The Firebird Mystery

by Darrell Pitt

  Mr Doyle clenched his jaw. ‘The Jeanne d’Arc is the pride of the French fleet. A masterpiece of construction.’

  An explosion came from below decks, almost as if to undermine his words. The vessel tilted to one side. People screamed. Pots and pans flew across the galley and plates smashed everywhere. A woman prayed. Half the lights went out in the kitchen. Jack felt a sudden surge of terror as he imagined the Jeanne d’Arc being ripped apart and he and the others spilling into the unforgiving night of space.

  Bazookas, he thought. This might be the end.

  The sound of footsteps echoed across the floor. Jack spun about to see Major Evans hurrying through the dining room.

  ‘Excuse me, Major,’ Mr Doyle called to him. ‘Do you require assistance?’

  ‘Ah, Doyle,’ the major responded. ‘Good chap. I’m afraid the main boiler’s exploded and we need every man available.’

  ‘I’ll come,’ Jack responded.

  ‘We’ll come too,’ Lucy said.

  ‘These passengers need your assistance.’ Mr Doyle indicated the other group. ‘It’s best you remain here.’

  ‘Of course,’ Scarlet said.

  The major led them along a hall and down several flights of stairs. The temperature increased as they passed through doors on the lower level, and within seconds Jack was lathered in sweat. He should have left his green coat behind. Checking his pockets, he made certain he still had the picture of his parents and the compass. At least they hadn’t been lost in the confusion.

  Another set of doors opened on to the main engine room. The heat smothered them like a wave. For a few moments Jack could not breathe. Smoke and steam were everywhere. Someone cried out in pain. A few men lay to one side, burned and unable to move.

  Major Evans grabbed a passing engineer. The man’s face and white overalls were covered in grease and coal dust. A trickle of blood ran across his cheek.

  ‘Monsieur Dubois,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a couple of volunteers. How can they help?’

  ‘We need the injured transported to the infirmary,’ Dubois replied. ‘That’s up on the next level.’

  ‘You heard the man,’ Evans said to Jack and Mr Doyle. ‘There are stretchers set into the walls.’

  Mr Doyle took a stretcher and laid it next to the nearest victim. He instructed Jack to grab the man’s feet as he lifted his shoulders. Jack tried not to look at the sailor. His face was badly burnt and his breathing laboured.

  They lifted the stretcher and carried him up to the medical bay. The chamber was filled with injured men, crying out and moaning. Mr Doyle queried a doctor as to where to place the casualty.

  ‘Wherever you can fit him,’ the doctor said and continued working.

  Jack and Mr Doyle carried another half-a-dozen men to the hospital. There was constant thudding of cannon fire as the Jeanne d’Arc traded blows with the enemy. Just as they delivered the last man, the vessel gave an almighty heave and alarms rang throughout the ship.

  ‘That sounds rather ominous,’ Mr Doyle said.

  Churchill and a team of officers came barrelling down the stairs. The Englishman introduced Captain Girard and his Commanding Officer DePaul.

  ‘What’s happening?’ the detective inquired.

  ‘The bridge has just decompressed,’ the general explained. ‘We’re moving to the auxiliary bridge at the bow.’

  Mr Doyle and Jack joined the group, and soon found themselves in a small chamber in complete darkness. An officer activated a lamp and the yellow glow of gaslight filled the room. Another soldier pulled a lever and the wall before them slid across, revealing the stars. The edge of the German vessel drifted into view. It was listing in space, but still firing cannonballs at them.

  ‘We can’t take much more of this,’ DePaul said.

  ‘Bring her around so we’re firing directly into their aft side,’ the Captain ordered.

  DePaul relayed the order into a speaking tube.

  ‘The engine room is responding, but she’ll be sluggish,’ he said.

  ‘I’ll take what I can get,’ the Captain replied.

  A blast, the biggest yet, jarred the ship and everyone was thrown sideways except Girard, who hung on to the console. As they scrambled to their feet, the Commanding Officer yelled, ‘One more hit and we’re done for!’

  ‘The game’s not over yet,’ Captain Girard pointed. ‘Look!’

  Another vessel filled the viewing screen. Jack saw a flag emblazoned on the side.

  ‘It’s one of ours!’ Jack cried out. ‘It’s British!’

  ‘It’s the Wellington!’ Churchill yelled. ‘That’ll show those Nazis who’s in charge!’

  The steamer came about and positioned itself between the Jeanne d’Arc and the Bismarck. It was impossible to hear what was happening, though Jack assumed a great battle was in progress.

  ‘Now’s our chance, Captain,’ General Churchill said.

  ‘What are you suggesting, monsieur?’

  ‘If we dock with the Berlin Metrotower now we may still be able to track down the bombs.’

  ‘My first allegiance is to the safety of this ship,’ the Captain declared. ‘Are these weapons so important?’

  ‘I assure you, Captain, they are.’ Winston Churchill shook his jowls. ‘The planet is doomed if the Nazis unlock their secrets.’

  Girard nodded. ‘We will do as you say, but I cannot guarantee the outcome.’ Churchill thanked him.

  The Captain ordered the Jeanne d’Arc to approach the Berlin Metrotower. As they drew close, he arranged for a small fighter craft to deploy from the rear of their vessel. Major Evans joined the landing craft. Jack saw it chug toward the towers and dock. The Jeanne d’Arc slowed. Men scrambled from the fighter and swarmed over the outside of the tower like ants over a nest.

  At last, a sailor wearing a space suit waved a green flag from high up on the tower.

  DePaul peered through his binoculars. ‘That’s our signal, mon capitaine. They’ve found an entry point.’

  ‘Bring us in,’ Girard commanded.

  The Jeanne d’Arc slid into docking position. Major Evans returned and announced he would form a search party. He and General Churchill accepted Mr Doyle and Jack’s offer to accompany the group. As they made their way to the docking exit, the major turned to the detective.

  ‘It seems all is not well within the German ranks,’ he said. ‘There is enormous outrage at the Nazis’ actions. Much of Germany is in rebellion.’

  ‘Will we encounter opposition on the station?’ Mr Doyle asked.

  ‘I don’t believe so,’ the major replied. ‘We should remain vigilant, but many of their personnel are surrendering without a fight.’

  They arrived at the docking bay where they encountered Mr Harker and Mr Bell.

  ‘Thank God you escaped the Paris tower!’ Mr Bell cried. ‘The good Major would not allow us to check on your wellbeing.’

  ‘We need you gentlemen to defuse the bombs,’ the major said. ‘We had to keep you safe.’

  Scarlet and Lucy appeared from the corridor behind them.

  ‘We’re coming with you,’ Lucy said.

  ‘Absolutely not,’ her father said. ‘It’s far too dangerous.’

  ‘There’s safety in numbers,’ Scarlet responded. ‘And we will not take no for an answer.’

  The girls appeared so resolute that the men—even General Churchill—surrendered without a fight. ‘Just stay behind us,’ he warned.

  A squad of armed French soldiers led them along a walkway to the Berlin Metrotower. Jack felt nervous. The main departure area was almost empty. An assistant stood behind a café bar as if ready to serve customers. Two women with a large suitcase sat on a bench, clenching their hands as they watched the intruders.

  ‘This turn of events has caught everyone by surprise,’ the major said. ‘Up until yesterday, the tower was operating as normal.’

  ‘Did many leave?’ Jack asked.

  ‘It’s hard to say,’ the major said. ‘I imagine the lower levels wer
e able to evacuate, but there must still be thousands throughout the building.’

  ‘Well, not on this level,’ Mr Doyle said as they marched through an empty marketplace.

  ‘They’re probably hiding until the danger passes,’ Lucy said.

  Mr Bell was fiddling with a bronze square box with rabbit-ear antennas poking out the top. He waved the box around in a wide arc.

  ‘I’ve located both the devices,’ he said. ‘They appear to be a couple of levels below us on separate sides of the station.’

  By this point they had reached the centre of the tower where the elevators were situated. Jack tried to read the writing above the elevators, but could not decipher the strange language.

  ‘We will not use these,’ the major decided. ‘They may be booby trapped.’

  ‘Or non-operational,’ Mr Harker said. ‘I notice it feels rather cold up here.’

  He was right—it was freezing in the station.

  ‘The steam engines that heat the tower may have stopped operating,’ Mr Bell said. ‘No power, no heat, no elevators.’

  They went down a staircase with the soldiers in the lead. The stairs connected with a T-intersection. They went to the right, and at once encountered a group of German soldiers leaning against a wall, guns at their sides. A French soldier named Leroy challenged them and the men regarded one another warily. They began speaking German and the two groups shook hands.

  ‘The soldiers are not interested in fighting,’ Leroy reported. ‘They are happy for us to pass.’

  Jack felt some trepidation as they walked by. Surely it was wiser to take their weapons?

  Mr Harker increased his pace as they drew closer to the bomb. They reached a long windowless chamber. It reminded Jack of a sewer pipe. A hatch at the other end opened on to a small fighter craft. Most of the men remained to defend the docking ramp as Jack and the girls followed Mr Bell and the others onto the ship.

  The fighter usually accommodated two pilots with bench seating for eight men in the rear. The seating had been stripped out and a long, torpedo-shaped object sat in the centre.

  ‘That’s it,’ Mr Bell said in a hushed voice. ‘That’s the bomb.’

  ‘One of them,’ Mr Harker corrected him.

  He knelt to examine a panel on the side of the device. His face paled.

  ‘My God,’ he said. ‘They’ve done it.’

  ‘Done what?’ Churchill demanded.

  ‘They’ve armed it,’ Harker said. ‘They’ve set the device to explode. It’s only a matter of minutes before it detonates.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  A stunned silence greeted the news. Jack felt his knees go weak. He was glad the group was huddled close, otherwise he may have fainted.

  So this is it, he thought. The short life of Jack Mason. Here today. Gone tomorrow.

  ‘You can’t be serious,’ Major Evans said.

  ‘I’ve never been more serious in my life,’ Mr Harker said. ‘I’ll try to disarm this device at once. In the meantime, find the other bomb and continue the evacuation of the station.’

  ‘You girls need to leave,’ Mr Bell said.

  ‘It’s too late now,’ Mr Harker said. ‘The blast will take out anything within two miles of the tower.’

  Jack was confused. ‘So the Germans want to destroy their own tower,’ he said, ‘killing their own people at the same time?’

  ‘The Germans do not!’ General Churchill said. ‘This is the work of those confounded Nazis!’

  Mr Harker turned to Joseph Bell. ‘You take the scanner and find the other weapon.’

  Mr Bell nodded. ‘Are you sure you can disarm this one?’

  ‘I believe I can,’ he said. ‘I did some early work in designing the detonation mechanism.’

  Mr Bell took the lead as the group hurried out. A number of the soldiers joined them. Two remained at the entrance to the dock as they crossed to the station.

  ‘I imagine the Nazis planned to make off with both the weapons in separate steamers,’ Mr Bell said. ‘When we arrived unexpectedly, they decided to detonate them rather than let them fall into our hands.’

  As they passed a line of windows they saw a huge battle taking place some miles from the tower. A number of German steamers were involved, but a greater number of allied vessels were trading shots with the enemy. Jack identified some French and Swiss vessels. There was one flag he did not recognise.

  ‘Those are the Austrian ships,’ Mr Doyle explained.

  ‘Weren’t they on the side of the Germans during the war?’ Jack asked.

  ‘True,’ Mr Doyle replied. ‘I think this shows the depth of the divide between the Nazis and their former allies. At this rate, Germany will be engaged in a civil war by the end of the week.’

  Lucy touched Joseph Bell’s arm. ‘I’m terribly worried about my father.’

  ‘He’s one of the most remarkable men I’ve ever known,’ Mr Bell told her. ‘If anyone can defuse that device, he can.’

  As they turned a corner they encountered a group of armed men dressed in strange uniforms. The men raised their weapons. Major Evans yelled something in German, but one of them fired. The major threw himself sideways as the others scattered out of the way. Jack guessed these men were Nazis. The allied soldiers started firing at the enemy. General Churchill and Mr Doyle drew weapons and joined in the attack.

  Lucy grabbed Jack and Scarlet, dragging them away from the action. ‘Stay back here, you two,’ she yelled.

  ‘But I want to help,’ Jack said.

  ‘Stay,’ she ordered.

  Jack fumed. I don’t want to be treated like a child, he thought. I want to be part of the fight.

  After a moment the soldiers gave the order to advance. Jack, Lucy and Scarlet followed them. They passed the dead bodies of three men. Jack peered at them and felt a queasy sensation in his stomach.

  Mr Doyle pressed his shoulder. ‘Are you all right, my boy?’

  Jack nodded. Maybe Lucy Harker had been right to keep them back.

  They came to the end of the passageway. Another skirmish began. One of the French soldiers fell, and General Churchill pulled him to safety. Lucy produced a handkerchief and applied pressure to the injured man’s wound. A few more French soldiers appeared. They placed their wounded comrade on a stretcher and carried him away from the fighting.

  Lucy drew Jack and Scarlet to one side. ‘I’m going back to my father,’ she said. ‘I need to make certain he’s safe.’

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Jack offered.

  ‘No,’ Lucy said. ‘It’s too dangerous.’

  ‘But if it’s too dangerous for us...’ Scarlet started.

  ‘He’s my father.’

  A moment later she was gone. By now the gunshots were petering out. A group of their men advanced around the corner, leaving Jack and Scarlet with some of the French soldiers. General Churchill returned wearing a grim expression.

  ‘We’ve found the other weapon,’ he said.

  They followed him to a long windowless room. The atomic weapon sat in the centre. Mr Bell went over to it and checked a device on the side. He turned to the others with relief on his face.

  ‘This hasn’t been armed,’ he said. ‘They mustn’t have had time before they left.’

  ‘We’ll arrange for the transportation of the bomb to the Jeanne d’Arc,’ General Churchill said. He glanced at his watch. ‘We’d best return to the other bomb. I pray Mr Harker has been successful in defusing it.’

  As they retraced their steps through the tower, Scarlet informed the others about Lucy returning to her father.

  ‘She should have stayed with us,’ Major Evans said. ‘It’s far too dangerous to wander around alone.’

  ‘She was worried about Mr Harker,’ Scarlet said.

  ‘She’s as pigheaded as Paul,’ Mr Bell said. ‘I never could talk him out of anything once his mind had been made up.’

  Jack had noticed an insignia on the Nazi uniform. He asked Mr Doyle about it.

  ‘The mo
dern name of the symbol is swastika, taken from an old Sanskrit word svastika,’ Mr Doyle explained. ‘It is actually an ancient symbol. Many religions have used it over the centuries. The Nazis have appropriated it for their own evil purposes.’

  They arrived back in the docking area. The two French soldiers who had been left to guard Mr Harker lay on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding them. Jack felt a shiver of fear as Mr Doyle examined them.

  ‘They’re both dead,’ he said. ‘Stabbed with a thin-bladed knife.’

  The ship had also disappeared. Something looking like a bundle of rags had been deposited at the airlock door. Jack started along the corridor.

  ‘Wait!’ Mr Doyle warily inched forward, his eyes fixed to the floor. He reminded Jack of a hawk. He reached the pile of rags and examined it.

  ‘Oh no,’ Jack breathed.

  ‘What is it, young man?’ General Churchill asked.

  Jack couldn’t speak. The words would not come.

  Mr Doyle returned to them with a stony face. ‘It’s bad news, I’m afraid,’ he said. ‘The bomb has been stolen. Paul Harker is dead and a ransom note has been left.’

  ‘A ransom note?’ Scarlet said.

  ‘Yes. Lucy Harker has been kidnapped.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The airship arced across the English Channel towards the white cliffs of Dover. A glowing sun had appeared after early-morning rain and now the sky shone blue across the horizon. Jack peered through the window, letting out a long breath.

  Dear England, Jack thought. There were times when I doubted I’d ever see you again.

  They were on board the British airship Calypso, a hundred-foot vessel owned by the Royal Navy. Everyone was devastated by Mr Harker’s death and Lucy’s kidnapping. Major Evans had stayed with his soldiers. Now Jack found himself with only Mr Doyle, Scarlet, Joseph Bell and General Churchill. The last twenty-four hours had seen the crisis of all-out war averted, but at huge personal cost. Now an even greater drama was unfolding.