by Jon Robinson
‘And then she talks herself into taking action,’ said Alyn. ‘But what if you’re wrong about this Stephen guy?’
‘I’m not wrong about him. Shortly after we formed the Pledge, I had to visit Stephen at his offices. He’d had to make two dozen or so redundancies. No one in their right mind enjoys making redundancies, Alyn, it’s one of the most difficult and downright unpleasant things you’ll ever have to do. Stephen, on the other hand –’ Felix lowered his voice – ‘filmed every one of them with a hidden camera. I went into his office to give him some papers and he was sat with his feet up on the desk, almost crying with laughter at these videos – videos of grown men and women begging not to lose their jobs – with a box of popcorn in his hands. I knew he was a loose cannon from that moment.’
‘You told me there’d be consequences to kicking Stephen out,’ Alyn added. ‘Dangerous ones. Are you ready for them?’
Felix looked at him. After a moment’s pause he nodded. ‘Stephen’s not the type to let this go easily, Alyn, but, yes, I’m ready.’
‘Then in that case, I’m ready too,’ Alyn confirmed with a smile. ‘As long as you promise the other kids will be released and unharmed, like we agreed.’
The phone rang in Felix’s pocket. ‘Yes,’ he said, answering it. ‘What is it?’
As Felix listened, his expression gradually changed to one of delight. ‘Yes. Of course. I understand completely. Thank you.’
He ended the call and put the phone back inside his pocket.
‘That was Blythe,’ he said, smiling broadly. ‘He’s agreed. Thank you, Alyn. Now we just need Antonia to agree and Stephen will be expelled.’
49
Charlie stepped out of the lift, followed by a cautious Ryan and Jes. The two of them were both gazing around in quiet bewilderment.
‘Hey, what is this place?’ Ryan whispered to Jes.
‘Secret headquarters,’ she whispered back. ‘Blatantly.’
Ryan nodded, looking impressed. ‘Cool.’
A dejected Elsa was skulking in the corridor with her hands in the pockets of her hooded jumper when she spotted them. ‘Jes? Ryan?’ She ran towards them both, then after a moment of disbelief threw her arms round them. ‘I thought you were dead!’ she exclaimed. ‘We heard a shot – we thought one of you had been hit …’
Jes grinned. ‘I was. I’d show you the scar but you’re … kind of crushing it right now.’
Elsa pulled away and grimaced.
‘What’s going on out here?’ asked Harlan, appearing behind them. His eyes widened when he saw Ryan and Jes.
‘Great to see you,’ he said, putting his arm round Ryan’s shoulder. ‘And in one piece too. We didn’t think you were coming.’
‘We almost weren’t,’ Ryan said, looking a little embarrassed by the attention. ‘So you lot staying here or something?’
‘For now,’ said Harlan. ‘Beats sleeping on the streets – not something I plan on doing again anytime soon …’
Ryan looked at Jes. ‘And we thought those stinking tunnels were bad.’ He sniffed himself. ‘I’ll never get this smell out.’
‘Speaking of bad smells, Julian was supposed to be with us now, but he went a bit weird.’ Elsa tapped the side of her head. ‘Who knows where he is! Maybe the Pledge has got him.’
‘Figures,’ Ryan said with a snort. ‘So I guess you heard all about this Ability thing or whatever it’s called then?’
‘And?’ Elsa asked. ‘What do you think?’
It’s a load of crap, Ryan thought, then quickly replied with a dismissive shrug. ‘I still don’t believe a word of it.’ He waited for a response from Elsa and Harlan. ‘Come on, you don’t really believe them, do you?’
‘It’s real, Ryan,’ Harlan replied sombrely. ‘I promise you.’
Ryan crossed his arms. ‘Prove it.’
Harlan removed the coin from his pocket and flipped it several metres above his head. It landed with a loud crack on the floorboards, balanced on its side.
Jes’s mouth opened slowly. ‘Whoa,’ she murmured.
‘That’s only the start,’ Harlan said. He looked at Ryan. ‘Still don’t believe me?’
Ryan shrugged, looking down at it. ‘You made a coin land on its side. So what?’
‘Has anyone seen Alyn?’ Jes asked. ‘I was hoping he might be here …’
Elsa looked at Harlan and quickly shook her head, remembering the sight of him with Blythe and Felix. ‘No,’ she said. ‘Haven’t seen him.’
While the group were talking, Charlie went into the main hall and found Luthan sorting through some plans of the opera house.
‘You made it,’ Luthan said, extending his hand. ‘We hadn’t heard from you. I was getting worried.’
Charlie pulled Luthan to one side. ‘I didn’t want to call in case our line was bugged, but there’s been a problem,’ he said. ‘Henry’s been taken prisoner.’
‘Cool,’ Elsa whispered with enthusiasm, lying on her mattress. It was the early hours of the morning and most of the others had gone to bed. ‘I still can’t believe you were shot …’
Jes smiled over from her bed. ‘Don’t know if cool’s the right word, though,’ she said, and pulled back her top to check the dressing, pressing gently with her fingers. ‘But Ryan said he’s jealous. Getting shot was on his list of things to do before he dies, apparently.’
‘Most people want to swim with dolphins,’ Elsa murmured, pulling a face. ‘Do you remember much?’
Jes shook her head. ‘It’s a bit of a blur. I mean, I remember the sound more than anything. And Ryan’s face … and I remember thinking of my mum and dad and wishing I could just …’ She looked away.
‘You don’t want to talk about it,’ Elsa said. ‘That’s fine. I get it. So what’s the deal with this Henry guy?’
‘You’ve got a lot of questions,’ Jes said, smiling. She felt her eyes beginning to tire.
‘Sorry,’ Elsa mumbled. ‘I’ll shut up now, I promise.’
‘It’s fine.’ Jes closed her eyes. ‘The Guild knew something was going on with the prison. Henry was up there, investigating. He saved Ryan and me.’
‘And?’
‘He’s in the prison …’ she said, her voice trailing off. ‘God knows what they’ll do to him.’
‘They’ll try to get him to tell them about the Guild,’ Elsa said, worrying. If he talks, none of us will be safe here.
She rolled over and tugged the blanket over her head.
A few hours had passed when Elsa became aware of a faint scratching sound. She sat up in bed and kept still. Moments later, she heard it again. What was it? Where was it coming from?
‘Jes?’ she whispered. ‘Can you hear that?’ But Jes was fast asleep. Elsa felt her heart begin to quicken.
She tiptoed out of bed and opened the door, looking out. The corridor was in darkness. Maybe they have a pet cat or something, Elsa thought, and was about to head back into bed when there was a loud thump from the locked room at the end of the corridor.
Elsa jumped with fright, shut the door and leapt back into her bed, pulling the covers over her face.
50
Julian caught the briefest reflection of his face in the computer monitor. Although he had always been slim, Julian now felt skinny, his body a mass of angles and protruding joints, and his eyes were tired and sunken.
‘You almost finished?’ said the manager of the deserted Internet cafe, looking at his watch. ‘I need my lunch.’
‘Just another couple of minutes,’ Julian said, hammering at the keyboard.
‘What are you doing anyway? You’ve been going at that for the past three hours. Last-minute homework or something?’
‘Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. Last-minute homework. Idiot,’ Julian muttered. He logged off the computer and left.
He walked aimlessly for the next half an hour, rigid with cold. Each stab of wind struck his ears painfully, and he wiped a hand across his face, which felt numb and swollen.
The Gu
ild’s tower block wasn’t far, and if he left now he could be there within an hour. But then he’d have to confront this ‘Ability’ they claimed that he had … and that meant he might’ve been responsible for his parents’ death. The thought made him feel sick.
When he reached the end of the road Julian became aware of the slow rumble of a van behind him. He reached inside his coat for the ibis, struggling to move his stiff fingers round the trigger.
‘Hey,’ came a voice out of the van’s window. Julian kept his eyes fixed directly ahead and walked quicker.
‘Hey, kid,’ the voice came again. ‘You deaf or something?’
Julian looked over at the van just as the door flew open.
Pulling the ibis from his coat, Julian sprinted with it in his hand like a relay baton. They must’ve been trailing me all this time. He tore round the corner, barely keeping his balance on the ice, and ran down an alleyway, listening for the clatter of feet behind him.
At the next turning Julian spotted a large refuse container. He ducked behind it and waited.
‘We lost him,’ one of the men spat, less than a metre from where Julian was crouched, hidden. ‘You two, try the next road.’
Julian watched the man’s shadow extend a hand and pulled himself back to the wall. He’s going to see me, he thought, looking around for an escape route. He clutched the ibis close to his chest.
The next thing he felt was a hand closing round his throat. He opened his eyes, faced with a smiling man.
‘My employers have put quite a price on your head,’ the man said.
‘I’ll p-pay you more,’ Julian spluttered, trying to prise the hand away.
His attacker lowered his voice. ‘You don’t know who my employers are.’
Still flailing with the ibis in his other hand, Julian swung it as hard as he could at the man’s head. His attacker stumbled back, releasing Julian momentarily.
Julian pushed past him and rushed out of the alleyway, sprinting as fast as he could along the street. When he was sure he was safe from danger, for now anyway, he looked back over his shoulder and released an explosive breath, panting so hard that his body shook. Right now, the Guild’s offer didn’t seem quite so bad.
Stephen stood at his office window, watching the swarm of pedestrians some way down on the street below. The winter sun poured mistily over the surrounding skyscrapers.
‘Peasants,’ he spat under his breath, as his lip rose into a sneer.
There was a knock at the door. ‘Sir, I’m sorry to disturb you, but your website has been hacked. You might want to take a look.’
Stephen brought up his website on his computer. Across the front page were Julian’s words:
YOU ARE A LIAR AND A CRIMINAL. YOU ARE NOT SAFE. I’M COMING FOR YOU.
Stephen shrieked. He knew straight away who was responsible: it was the escaped inmate, the boy who’d approached him in the crowd. He thought the words had been nothing more than an idle threat, but obviously the boy was more capable than he had imagined.
‘Get this fixed immediately,’ Stephen snarled through gritted teeth to his assistant, who immediately scurried away.
He dialled a number in his phone, and when it was answered promptly he said, ‘It appears I have a deranged fan … I’m going to need extra security.’
51
‘Well, well, here you are,’ Luthan said, emerging on to the rooftop to find an eager Harlan waiting for him. ‘No Elsa?’
Harlan shook his head. ‘Haven’t seen her around this morning.’
‘A pity. She could use the practice.’ Luthan clasped his hands behind his back. ‘You requested an examination. Are you ready to proceed?’
‘I’m ready,’ Harlan said.
‘Good. If you pass, you’ll go on to the next level of training,’ said Luthan. ‘You’ll learn things you never thought possible, Harlan.’
‘I feel like my whole life has been leading to this,’ Harlan said. ‘I’ve never wanted anything more.’
‘I can see you’re determined,’ Luthan went on. ‘But are you ready to devote yourself to our cause?’
Harlan nodded. ‘I am.’
‘I must ask why. Why do you want to join the Guild? Is it power you desire? Or acceptance … being part of something greater than yourself? Or is it because you want to help make the world a better place?’
Harlan thought about this for a moment and went to speak, but Luthan silenced him. ‘I wasn’t expecting you to answer just yet. But it’s something for you to think about.’
Elsa peeked out from her hiding position behind the electricity generator. She looked down at the silver coin beside her foot. Still no luck. Sometimes she wondered whether she had the Ability at all.
‘Before you begin,’ continued Luthan, ‘let me make it clear that we have rules for testing, Harlan – fail and you won’t be able to retake the test for at least another month. Is that understood?’
‘A month?’ Harlan suddenly didn’t feel so confident about his chances.
‘We don’t encourage time-wasting,’ Luthan answered. ‘But, remember, if you pass, another level of training awaits. So do you still want to take the test?’
Harlan removed the coin from his pocket and looked at it. ‘Yeah. Let’s do it.’
‘You know what you have to do,’ Luthan announced. ‘Make it land on its edge … three times in a row. Good luck.’
Luthan stepped to the side and put his hands in his coat pockets.
Harlan flipped the coin, much higher than he’d intended on his first attempt, and watched as it returned to the ground, rolling on its side before falling still.
Nice one, Harlan, Elsa thought, restraining herself from cheering him on.
Harlan retrieved the coin and tossed it again, with more control this time. He swallowed and took a deep breath as the coin landed directly on its side, wobbling a little.
‘That’s twice,’ said Luthan. ‘Once more, Harlan. Remember to concentrate …’
Harlan nodded. He positioned the coin on his thumb, then closed his eyes and flipped it, waiting for the satisfying clink of metal on stone. Elsa shut her eyes, fearing that he was going to fail. The coin landed, rolled to a halt, wobbled ever so slightly and toppled over.
Elsa opened her eyes. She looked at the coin, then at a clearly devastated Harlan.
‘I’m sorry,’ Luthan said. ‘It didn’t land on its side. I can’t allow you to pass.’ He offered a consoling smile and walked past the boy to the stairs.
Harlan ran over to the coin in disbelief. ‘Wait!’ he said, calling after Luthan. ‘That’s it? Don’t I at least get another try?’
‘I told you the rules. I’ll see you in a month’s time. Keep practising, Harlan.’
Before Harlan could say another word, Luthan disappeared.
Elsa hopped out from behind the electricity generator. ‘Hey, I’m sorry you didn’t pass, Harlan,’ she said. ‘You were doing really well. I’d have passed you –’
‘You,’ Harlan said. ‘That’s why it didn’t work. It was you being here –’
Elsa pointed to herself innocently. ‘Me? What have I done? I just came to cheer you on, is all –’
‘And you jinxed it.’ Harlan scowled at her. ‘It was going to work, but you cancelled it out. Now I have to wait and you’ll probably pass before I do!’
Elsa looked hurt. ‘Well, I’m sorry for coming. I wish I’d never bothered.’ With that, she turned and ran away.
52
It was long past noon when Ryan eventually awoke. He stumbled groggily from his bed and went into the meeting room.
Jes and Elsa were sitting round a table with Anton, who was teaching a delighted Elsa a card trick.
‘Look at this, Ryan!’ she exclaimed, thrusting a fanned deck of cards in his face. ‘Choose one. Go on …’
‘Don’t like magic tricks,’ he grumbled. ‘They’re stupid.’ He sat in the chair next to Jes, rubbing his eyes. ‘So what are we gonna do?’
‘We’re going to k
idnap one of the Pledge at the opera house and use them to stop the project,’ said Elsa.
‘You aren’t doing anything,’ Anton answered. ‘We are.’
‘Hang on a minute,’ Ryan cut in. ‘We’re the ones they put in that place. And you’re telling me we can’t do this ourselves? We don’t need you lot.’
‘Of course we need them,’ Harlan argued, entering the room. He scowled at Elsa.
‘You’re forgetting that we’ve saved your skin repeatedly,’ said Anton, looking at Ryan.
‘We broke out of the prison without any of you,’ Ryan snapped.
Anton could see Ryan was quickly becoming irritated. ‘You got lucky,’ he said, shrugging.
‘I don’t even want to join your gang or whatever you are!’ Ryan said, and got to his feet. ‘I don’t believe in any of this stuff. It’s crazy. Come with me, Jes. You too, Elsa.’ He looked at Harlan. ‘And you too, if you want …’
‘I’m not going anywhere.’ Harlan shook his head slowly. ‘I’m staying here. This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I want to be a part of this.’
Ryan rolled his eyes and turned to Elsa and Jes. ‘What about you two?’
‘I’m pretty rubbish at it, but I’m with Harlan,’ Elsa said, and smiled consolingly. ‘This is pretty cool.’
‘Jes?’
Jes thought about it for a moment and sighed.
‘Come on, Jes,’ Ryan said. ‘You can’t be serious …’
‘I’m not going to put my family at risk by going back home, Ryan,’ she said.
‘So you’re going to stay with this lot?’ He looked up as Pyra entered the room. She was wearing a white T-shirt and grey jogging bottoms. ‘And who are you?’
‘We haven’t yet been introduced,’ she said. ‘Come with me, Ryan. And anyone else who wants to join in.’
He looked suspicious. ‘Why? Where are we going?’
‘We’re going to do some training,’ she said.
‘I’ve heard about your training. Flipping a coin again and again and again until it drives you nuts,’ Ryan challenged. ‘I’ve got better things to do with my time – no offence, Harlan.’
