London Belongs to the Alchemist (Class Heroes Book 4)

by Stephen Henning

  James took his chance. He didn’t make a fuss, he didn’t draw attention to himself — he just casually slipped through the crowd and stepped out into the main street where Lolly was waiting.

  “Sam’s been kidnapped,” said Lolly, straight out.

  “What?” exclaimed James. “Who by? How is that even possible? She’s been in school.”

  “Never mind that now. I saw it happen and I got the registration plate of the car that took her. We have an address to start looking.”

  James couldn’t take it all in. What the hell had happened over lunchtime and why was Lolly helping his family? He liked her, but he didn’t trust her.

  “Dad sent you to look for Sam?” James said, disbelievingly.

  “He did. And I intend to repay his trust. But I need you to help me. I started that fire to get you out of school. Now they’ve ticked you off the register, nobody will miss you. I need you to teleport us to New Cross, do you know where that is?”

  James thought.

  “Yes. Dad and I took the tube there to see QPR play Millwall last year. I remember it really clearly because there’d been violence at the home game, and then QPR lost two–nil away.”

  “Never mind the stupid football, your sister is in danger,” snapped Lolly.

  “Why do you care?” asked James, taken aback.

  “I care about you,” said Lolly.

  James hoped she wasn’t just stringing him along.

  “So I have to care about Sam, too,” Lolly continued, before James could process the implication of her words. “She’s in trouble and I think it’s to do with her boyfriend.”

  “She doesn’t have one,” said James.

  Lolly gave him a look that James didn’t quite understand. Was this to do with Al, the kid who’d been texting Sam?

  “Just get us to New Cross,” said Lolly patiently. “Land us somewhere quiet, then we’re looking for a casino. I’ll explain the facts of life to you on the way.”

  She held out her hand for James to take it.

  Hers felt nice to the touch. Warm, smooth, gentle. James looked her in the eyes and held the gaze a second too long. She seemed to be enjoying the moment. Then he conjured up an image in his mind of an empty yard that he remembered staring at as the train had approached New Cross underground station on the day of QPR’s defeat.

  He closed his eyes, felt the usual sensation of disorientation, involuntarily shivered, then opened his eyes again.

  ***

  The first thing James heard was the rhythmic clattering sound of a tube train approaching a station.

  James looked around him. Perfect landing. He was exactly where he had intended them to be, an abandoned building yard next to the station. They were separated from the railway line by a rusting metal fence.

  He reluctantly let go of Lolly’s hand.

  “Good work,” said Lolly. “Let’s find Sam.”

  Together they picked their way across the muddy yard.

  “Remind me to claim the cost of these new shoes from the kidnappers,” said Lolly, looking down at her mud-splattered pumps.

  James was worried about Sam. So why did he feel an odd thrill of excitement that he was here, with Lolly, out to rescue his sister? He felt heroic, like James Bond, with a beautiful girl at his side. Ok, so he was in school uniform rather than a tuxedo, but he felt cooler than a vodka martini.

  They had to clamber over a large set of wooden double doors to get onto New Cross Road. Lolly nimbly scaled the barrier, leaving James to huff and puff as he pulled himself up and over, snagging and tearing his blazer on the way down. Great! Add Mum to the list of people who were likely to try and kill him today.

  They made their way along the bustling street. Cars and buses droned past, people hustled with shopping bags or congregated in the middle of the pavement to talk.

  He and Lolly got several looks from passers-by. They made an odd couple, him dressed for school and her dressed for the catwalk.

  ***

  “This is it,” said Lolly, when they had walked about half a mile from the station.

  They stood outside an imposing grey stone building. It looked like it had once been a cinema or theatre. Wide steps lead up to the large entrance hall. The words ‘New Cross Empire Casino’ were emblazoned above the doorway. No doubt they lit up at night. Probably the whole building would be illuminated by gaudy pink lights. During the day, however, it looked drab and uninteresting.

  Everything looked closed and shut up.

  “Let’s kick the door down,” said James.

  “I like your style,” said Lolly, licking her lips. “Normally I favour that approach. But we’ve probably arrived before Sam, if they’re even coming here at all. Let’s go round the back and see if we can sneak in.”

  A side road gave access to a small car park at the back of the casino, which had three vehicles parked in it. A Mercedes, a BMW and — to James’s delight — a Lamborghini Aventador. James had been reading up on them over the weekend. In his opinion, they were the daddy of all high-performance sports cars. He whistled appreciatively.

  “Wow, that’s beautiful,” he marvelled. “Look at that bodywork.” He took a step towards it.

  “Hey,” snapped Lolly, taking his arm. “The only bodywork you should find beautiful is mine. Not some noddy car.”

  Oops, thought James, but felt a thrill that she was thinking about him like that.

  “The car that I saw isn’t here,” observed Lolly. “Let’s see what we can find out inside.”

  A fire-escape stairway spiralled from the back door of the casino up to the roof. There were three rows of windows on the back of the building, and for each level the fire escape connected to a door.

  “Always start at the top,” said Lolly. “There’s a little tip for you, James,” she added with a wink. Lolly silently trotted up the metal steps. James followed behind her, trying not to look at her very short shorts. Lolly seemed very relaxed, totally without fear. Clearly, she was used to this kind of thing.

  From the top of the fire escape James had a view of the rooftops of houses and shops, and a large park.

  “The door’s locked, unsurprisingly,” said Lolly, pulling at the black fire door. “I’ll have to force it open.”

  “Wait,” said James, and sidled past Lolly so he was nearest the door. She smelled of an expensive, fruity perfume. He felt giddy and it wasn’t because of the height.

  James leaned across the metal railings of the fire escape so he could see in through the nearest window. It looked like a small office and, crucially, there was nobody in it.

  He took Lolly’s hand, concentrated, and teleported them into the office.

  Lolly was grinning with admiration.

  “I do like a clever boy,” she whispered, and gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

  James felt very hot all of a sudden.

  The room looked like it was used just for storage. A broken printer sat on a wooden desk; reams of paper were stacked against a wall; and there were various open cardboard boxes, containing brightly-coloured casino chips, placed around the room. The office smelled faintly of cigarettes and something sickly sweet.

  Male voices floated down the corridor. Lolly’s face lit up. She indicated for them to exit the room.

  She can’t wait, thought James. She’s just longing for some action. Her enthusiasm was infectious. How different it was being with Lolly from being with Sam. His sister always advocated caution. She acted like a conscience and sometimes it got on his nerves. Sam felt like the brakes of a car. Lolly was the accelerator.

  They padded silently along the deep red carpet towards an office at the far end. The door was open, but from this angle they couldn’t see who was inside. Just some drab walls and an empty chair. The closer they got to the office, the better James was able to make out what was being said.

  “Darius just texted. They’re outside now. No problems.” The accent was typical London, but with a slight foreign twang.

  “G
ood,” said a second voice, deeper, richer, but still with that cocktail of cockney and some other culture. “I want to know more about this Super D stuff. Why haven’t we heard about it before?”

  Lolly looked at James, her eyes wide open.

  “Super D?” she mouthed. Clearly she was making the connection with Super Drug, the substance pioneered by her father. James just pulled a face to suggest he knew nothing about it.

  There was a noise from behind them. Steps and voices. James pulled Lolly into another grey office and they hid behind the door. He tried to control his raggedy breathing, an effort that was made harder when Lolly pressed her body against his. They were about the same height. She held his gaze, part challenging, part mocking. James didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t say anything.

  Before long, a procession of people trooped past. Peering out from the doorway, James saw Sam and a kid he didn’t recognize, followed by two large blokes carrying guns.

  All four of them entered the office and disappeared from James’s field of view.

  “Is this him?” James heard the deeper voice ask. Then, “Who’s the blonde kid?”

  “His girlfriend,” said a new voice. “She just waded in while we were inviting our friend into the car. We had no choice but to bring her.”

  “Ok. All right, kids, understand this. If you tell anybody about this meeting, about me, about this place, I’ll kill you, your mum, your dad, your brother, your sweet old grandma, your cat, your dog and even your goldfish. But tell me what I want to know, and I’ll let you go, do you get me?”

  On impulse, James stepped out from his hiding place and entered the office behind the kidnappers.

  “Get this,” he said.

  Chapter 19

  “James!” Sam cried out in delight.

  Instantly, the two kidnappers swung their guns around to cover James. The one with the beard grabbed hold of James by his blazer and pulled him away from the door. James allowed himself to be pushed into a chair in the corner.

  “What about me?” asked Lolly, looking graceful, elegant and as though she had just arrived at a film premiere. The moustached kidnapper swivelled around and pointed his gun at her. Lolly didn’t even flinch.

  A tall, powerfully built man in an immaculate black suit got up from behind the desk. Obviously he was the boss, and he didn’t look happy.

  “What the hell is going on?” asked Boss Man. “I said bring the kid in, not the whole school.”

  The guy standing just behind Boss Man looked flash and cocky, like a footballer.

  “Did you bring these two along?” Flash Guy asked the kidnappers.

  “No, just the kid and his girl,” said the man who still had hold of James’s blazer.

  “How did you get here?” Boss Man asked James.

  “You took my sister,” said James, angrily. “We followed your gorillas.” No point explaining how they’d really got there.

  Boss Man walked around his desk and stood next to the guy who was pointing a gun at Lolly.

  “You two are unbelievable,” Boss Man said to the kidnappers. “I ask you to bring me one kid. Instead you bring me two, and let two others follow you. Are you for real?”

  “Sorry, Mr Cairo,” mumbled the guy holding James.

  The Boss Man returned to his original position behind his desk. He looked at James, Sam, the kid who James presumed was Al, and Lolly. He smiled in what he probably thought was a charming way, but it made him look like a crocodile.

  “All right, guys. Let’s just relax. Let me introduce myself. I’m Nicky Cairo, owner of the club. This is my good friend, Zak,” he said, indicating Flash Guy. “Everybody sit down. No need to be scared, nobody is going to harm nobody. Darius, Mo — put the guns away; let’s all sit down.”

  The two kidnappers put their guns in their pockets. James was already sitting down and he looked at Sam with an expression that said ‘why not?’

  Al was led to a chair in front of Nicky’s desk. He sat down. Sam was placed next to him. Lolly was offered a chair in a corner of the room, away from the door. She accepted gracefully and crossed her legs.

  The balance of power in the room had subtly changed. Although, in all probability, all four men were armed, none of them had their guns at the ready. Why would they against children?

  If James, Sam and Lolly attacked now, they could make mincemeat out of these guys. But now they were here, James was keen to find out what was going on, and clearly Lolly and Sam were, too.

  Nicky Cairo leaned forward across the desk and addressed Al.

  “You’re Alvin Lester? Known as DJ Alchemy, yes?” It was a question, but Nicky Cairo phrased it as a fact.

  Al shrugged, noncommittally.

  “Why am I here?” he asked.

  Nicky showed his crocodile teeth again, and sank back into his chair.

  “You’re a bit of a naughty boy, aren’t you Alvin?” he asked, chuckling. “You think you’re a bit of a cool dude? You’re the number one party guy in the city, yeah?” Nicky laughed. Al said nothing.

  “Good on you, son,” enthused Nicky. “I’m impressed. I’ve seen the reports on the news, that thing at London Bridge. Brilliant.” His praise was laced with menace and James shivered. Nicky Cairo gave him the creeps. Even though James had calculated the odds to be in his favour in a fight, something about this gangster set alarm bells ringing.

  “So what?” shrugged Al, giving nothing away.

  “Tough business you’ve picked, son,” said Nicky. “Parties, drugs, designer drugs. There’s a lot of big players out there who won’t like you muscling in on their territory.”

  “I ain’t selling drugs, man,” scoffed Al. “I ain’t like you, I ain’t no gangster. People like you terrorize ordinary people and get money from them. I’m helping people. I’m giving something back.”

  The man called Zak snorted. He and Nicky exchanged glances and chuckled, like they were sharing a private joke.

  “’Course you are, kid,” said Nicky, placatingly. “You got something. You got guts and you got ambition. But you need help. Protection. All your good intentions will come to nothing when you get some nasty big blokes kicking your door in because you’ve been selling gear on their turf.”

  “People like you, you mean?” snarled Al.

  Nicky flashed another smile.

  “You see your problem, don’t you? You got this secret identity thing, DJ Alchemy. The cops don’t know who you are and you think you’re invincible. But do you know how long it took my men to find out your name and where you live?”

  Al didn’t answer. He just shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

  “Come here.” Nicky beckoned Al to the window. “You too,” he said to James, Lolly and Sam. The five of them stood looking out at New Cross Road.

  Nicky Cairo pointed in the direction of Peckham.

  “Your father’s shop is just up there? Yes?”

  “What of it?” asked Al.

  “Your father got that through hard work. You think you’re above that? You look down on him because he runs a shop? That’s what I’m getting from you, Al.”

  “Leave my father out of this,” said Al.

  “Point is,” said Nicky to Al. “I built up my organization through hard work too. But also, I took the opportunities when they came up. That’s what you need to do. Be creative. You know what my prize possession is?”

  “Your sense of humour?” asked Lolly.

  Nicky Cairo ignored her.

  “My Lamborghini Aventador. You probably saw it in the car park when you arrived.”

  “It’s a nice car,” said James. Nicky looked pleased, then turned back to Al.

  “It’s the business. Bought it for £250,000 off a young Saudi guy. Gorgeous to drive. You could have a car like that one day.”

  Al said nothing.

  “Al. Listen, mate. I like you. I want to help you. I run clubs, I got experience of this sort of thing. I can give you venues, backing, whatever you want. I can make you massive.”
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  It was Al’s turn to laugh.

  “You don’t get it,” he said, looking everywhere but at Nicky. “I’m not interested in getting rich, or exploiting people. I’m not some scumbag criminal like you.”

  Nicky grimaced. Clearly he was losing patience and James had a feeling the friendly acting would soon be dropped in favour of threats.

  “Sit down,” Nicky commanded, sitting down himself. Everybody returned to their chairs.

  “Ok, let’s cut to the chase,” said Nicky. “Let’s talk drugs.”

  “You wanna buy some?” asked Al, deadpan.

  “No,” said Zak, perching on the desk next to Al. He didn’t bother with the pretence of friendship in the way his boss had. “We want you to tell us where you’re getting them from.”

  Al looked away again.

  Nicky Cairo swivelled around theatrically on his chair and moved himself back to the window. He peered out.

  “Yeah. I see your father’s shop,” he said, casually. “My wife shops there a lot. Loves it. She’s a good cook, is my wife. Mango. She likes cooking with mango. You’ve probably served her in the shop. Blonde hair, stunning. You’d have noticed her, for sure.”

  Al started fidgeting again.

  “Be a shame if she had to shop somewhere else in future because, oh, say, your shop had been burned to the ground.”

  “Leave my family alone,” shouted Al, leaping up off his chair. Zak pushed him straight back down into it.

  Sam was on her feet too, but she didn’t do anything. James braced himself. He checked Lolly to see if she was poised for action. She was filing her nails and looking bored. What the hell went on in that girl’s head?

  “Sit down, blondie,” ordered Zak.

  Sam looked Zak in the eye.

  “I’ll just say one thing. Don’t touch him. Don’t hurt him, or his family.”

  She looked so incongruous, so small next to these huge men, but she remained defiant as Zak leaned in, his face only centimetres from hers.

  “Just sit down and shut up,” he said, slowly.

  “Just so you know you’ve been warned,” said Sam, and sat down.

  Nicky Cairo stood up.