Every Second Counts

by Sophie McKenzie

  With a splash it landed in the pond. No. My arm was twisted up, behind my back. As I yelled out, a hand was clamped over my mouth. My arm was wrenched higher. Pain seared through me. I turned my head. One of Riley’s EFA soldiers stood behind me, a beanie hat pulled low over his forehead.

  ‘Who are you?’ the man ordered. ‘Why are you here?’ He took his hand away from my mouth.

  ‘I’m Charlie Stockwell,’ I gasped. ‘I want to see Riley – and I know he’ll want to—’

  The soldier clamped his hand over my mouth again. ‘Come on.’ With a rough tug on the arm still twisted behind my back, he dragged me across the grass towards the house.

  I looked over my shoulder at the fishpond. The orange fish swam lazily, their gleaming skin glinting in the faint light from the house. My heart sank. I might be on my way to see Riley, but my phone was now at the bottom of that pond. It was gone. And with it, my only way of directly contacting Nat.

  Nat

  ‘Riley’s really kidnapped Jas?’ People in the ticket office were bustling around me but all my focus was on Aaron’s voice on the other end of the line.

  ‘Yes, she was on her way over to see me and they took her and I got a phone call telling me to say nothing to any—’

  ‘Wait. Slow down.’ A tannoy announcement boomed overhead as I tried to process what Aaron was saying. I could understand why Riley might think Jas would know where I was, but why on earth would she have been going to see Aaron in the first place? Jas hardly knew him – though she did know that, despite my rescuing him, Aaron Latimer had done absolutely nothing to clear my name. Okay, so Julius had insisted that Mayor Latimer was only pretending to support Riley, that he was in fact giving the resistance equipment and weapons, but that could easily be a con. And this was surely a trick.

  ‘Nat?’ Aaron sounded panicky, his voice urgent. ‘Are you there?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Does your dad know Riley’s taken Jas?’

  ‘No, he’s away on some business trip.’

  ‘I thought he was supposed to be close to Riley?’

  ‘He pretends to support him, yes, but he’s not in the inner circle. He doesn’t know about this, honestly.’ Aaron’s voice cracked. ‘I would have told him, but he’s on a plane right now, flying back from Singapore. He’s been in the air with his phone switched off since it happened.’

  I said nothing. Everything Aaron said sounded convincing, but then if Riley had prepped him, that’s exactly what I’d expect.

  ‘Nat?’

  ‘So why are you calling me?’ I asked.

  ‘Because my dad’s not around, my mum would freak if I told her, and we can’t trust the police – which means you and I have to go and rescue her.’ He paused. ‘Just tell me where you are and I’ll come and find you. I’ve taken money from my mum’s account so I’m minted. I can pick you up, wherever you are.’

  I stiffened. Was this all a trap to trick me into revealing my whereabouts? ‘Why should I trust you about anything?’ I snapped. ‘You didn’t tell anyone Charlie and I rescued you, you let everyone think we are terrorists.’

  ‘I know.’ Aaron blew out his breath. ‘I know you have no reason to trust me, but I’m telling you the truth. Jas is gone and I was told to cover up her being missing as long as I could, that if I let anyone know she was kidnapped, they’d kill her.’

  I leaned my head on the ticket office window. The glass was cool against my skin. ‘Why would Riley tell you about kidnapping my sister? Why not our parents?’ On the other side of the window, the bus to London was loading up with passengers.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Aaron said. ‘But . . . but Jas and I have been seeing a lot of each other.’

  I frowned. Charlie had told me that she’d seen Aaron and Jas together at his party last month, but it hadn’t occurred to me Aaron might have contacted her since. Jas certainly hadn’t mentioned it on the few occasions I had talked to her.

  ‘ “Seen a lot of her” how?’ I demanded. ‘Are you saying you’re her boyfriend?’

  There was a pause. ‘Er . . . yes.’

  Again, I had no idea whether or not to believe him.

  ‘Look, your sister and I . . .’ Aaron stammered. ‘I know Jas hasn’t said anything yet, but it’s okay. I think she’s amazing. Totally cool.’

  ‘Too cool for you,’ I muttered.

  ‘Please, Nat.’ Aaron hesitated. ‘I understand why you might think I’m lying to you. But I’ve realised since I . . . since Riley took me . . . that things aren’t what they seem. My dad’s filled me in about a lot of things.’

  In the background, the tannoy announced that the next bus to London was about to depart. Outside, the last few passengers were getting on board.

  ‘What about my dad, my parents?’ I said. ‘Surely they’d have noticed if Jas wasn’t at home?’ As I said the words, I knew it was, in fact, entirely likely that Mum and Dad would have been far too busy to notice if Jas went missing – at least for a few hours. I ground my teeth, a new fury building inside me – this time, at my parents.

  ‘Yeah, right.’ Aaron snorted. ‘One of the reasons Jas spends so much time with my family is because her own is never around.’

  Guilt stabbed me like a knife. It wasn’t just Mum and Dad. I wasn’t around for Jas, either.

  ‘Anyway,’ Aaron went on, ‘if your parents think about it at all, they’ll probably just assume she’s with me, staying over.’

  ‘She stays over?’

  ‘Look, Nat, I know this is a lot to take in, but we don’t have much time. The guy who phoned me said Riley would release Jas so long as I didn’t tell anyone she’d been taken, but I can’t see he’ll have any reason to keep her alive.’

  Outside on the concourse, all the passengers were on board the London bus now, the driver just checking over the last pieces of luggage. I clenched my fists, torn between the small part of me that believed Aaron and the larger part that refused to.

  ‘I don’t trust you,’ I hissed. ‘I think you stole my number and now you’re trying to find out where I am so you can tell your dad so he’ll tell Riley.’

  ‘No,’ Aaron insisted. ‘My dad is only—’

  I ended the call, then immediately scrolled to Jas’s number and tried her. The phone went straight to voicemail.

  I hesitated. If Jas had been kidnapped then Riley would have her phone. Still, if I didn’t leave a message, he wouldn’t know this call was from me.

  I pressed ‘end’ and raced out of the ticket office towards my bus. Never mind not having a ticket. I’d pay the driver directly. He was on board now, shucking off his jacket, getting ready to drive.

  My phone rang again. Aaron.

  ‘Nat, don’t hang up.’

  I hesitated, my eyes on the bus. The driver was settling into his seat.

  ‘Nat, I swear on my life and my parents’ lives and your sister’s life that I am telling you the truth.’ Aaron’s voice shook with conviction. ‘Riley has taken Jas. We have to rescue her.’

  In front of me, the headlights flashed on as the bus engine growled into action. I stopped moving towards it.

  ‘Think about it,’ Aaron said. ‘I’ve called you on your mobile so I obviously have your number. If me or my dad were going to sell you out to Riley, don’t you think I’d have passed your number on already and he’d already have caught you?’

  This was a fair point. I hesitated. I still wasn’t going to trust Aaron himself, but suppose Jas had been taken, just as he described? I had to find out.

  ‘Do you have any idea where Riley’s taken Jas?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes, I have my dad’s tracking equipment on my phone. It’s the same as the stuff he’s given to the resistance. I got an area trace – for Yorkshire. I reckon it must be that place you rescued me from.’

  He meant the EFA operations base.

  ‘Right,’ I said. Up ahead the London bus was turning out of its parking space and heading for the bus station exit.

  ‘That’s why I need you to help me
rescue her,’ Aaron said. ‘You know the place, where it is, how to get inside. You got me out of there so—’

  I switched off the call, then my entire phone. There was certainly no way was I going to break into the ops base with Aaron. He had no training for this kind of thing. I hesitated a second, then removed the SIM card from my phone. I’d put it back in if I urgently needed to make a call. I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure Aaron wouldn’t pass my number on to his dad or even to Riley’s men, despite what he’d just said.

  The London bus disappeared from view. Part of me still wanted to be on it. Charlie was in London looking for Riley. I missed her more than I wanted to admit to myself. And I was scared for her too. Still, Charlie had chosen the path she’d taken. Jas was an innocent – and her life was in immediate danger.

  I picked up my luggage and headed back into the ticket office to find out the fastest way to the training base.

  Charlie

  Roman Riley stood in the middle of the room, his bright, dark eyes fixed on mine. I glared back as the soldier who’d been holding me let go of my arm.

  ‘She’s not armed, sir,’ he said. ‘No phone, either.’

  ‘Good work, soldier,’ Riley said, without taking his eyes off me. ‘Please ask Martina to bring Charlie a blanket, she looks cold. Oh, and some food and water too.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Or would you prefer a cup of tea, Charlie?’

  I said nothing. Why was Riley being so nice? Was this some sort of trick?

  Riley nodded as if I’d replied. ‘Okay, soldier, please see what Martina can rustle up for our guest.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ The man left.

  He shut the door behind him. Riley and I were alone. Riley was still staring at me, searching my face. I looked away, unsure what he was playing at.

  Now I was actually here, I was starting to realise what a huge challenge I faced. This man was responsible for the bomb blast that killed Mum. There was no one in the world I hated more. And yet if I wanted to work undercover, trying to find evidence that Riley’s real agenda was to use violence to gain power, I was going to have to convince him that I wanted to join him.

  It felt impossible.

  Playing for time, I let my eyes wander over the living room. It was simply but elegantly furnished, with leather sofas and a big TV in the corner. Bookshelves ranged across one wall.

  ‘Please sit down, Charlie,’ Riley said, taking a seat on one of the sofas.

  I perched on the sofa opposite and stared down at the rug that lay between us – a soft pattern of reds and golds. It looked – like everything in the room – extremely expensive. Riley leaned forward, his hands clasped together. He said nothing. Was he waiting for me to speak?

  I stared mutinously at him, still with no idea what to say.

  ‘Are you alright, Charlie?’ His voice expressed concern. Again, I wondered why. I had just been caught skulking around in his back garden, yet instead of interrogating me to find out why I was here, he was offering me food and drink and acting like he cared about me. I frowned and Riley smiled. His features were sharper than they looked on TV and his body slighter, but he was just as charismatic as he always appeared on screen. It was partly his looks – he was square-jawed and handsome, with dark hair and intelligent eyes that seemed to see right through you – but there was something more than that too. There was a stillness about him, almost as if he carried his own atmosphere wherever he went, like a powerful magnet that pulled everything towards it.

  I shook myself. Never mind Riley and why he was being so nice to me, I had to focus on myself, on what I wanted here. Most importantly, I needed to remember that I must never let my guard down in his presence.

  ‘Charlie?’ Riley repeated.

  ‘I’m fine,’ I said.

  There was a knock on the door. A woman came in. She was slender, with long blonde hair, and dressed in elegant grey trousers and a black jumper. She crossed the room and laid a blanket and a bottle of water on the sofa beside me.

  ‘Soup and a sandwich okay?’ she asked.

  ‘That’s great, Martina,’ Riley said. ‘Thank you.’

  Martina leaned over and kissed his cheek. I watched, surprised. I’d only ever seen Riley as a politician, on TV and, of course, as the EFA’s secret leader. It had never occurred to me that he might have a personal life. I checked Martina’s left hand. No wedding ring.

  ‘Martina is a trained EFA soldier and my girlfriend.’ Riley sounded amused.

  Embarrassed that he’d clearly guessed what I’d been thinking, I looked down at the blanket and the bottle. I wasn’t particularly cold now I was inside, but I was desperately thirsty.

  ‘Go ahead,’ Martina said. Her voice was crisp but not unfriendly. ‘It’s not poisoned.’

  I reached out and picked up the bottle. The cap was properly fastened. I untwisted it and took a sip. The water felt blissful on my dry throat. I gulped it down greedily, then replaced the cap.

  Riley was still watching me, his head tilted to one side.

  ‘So . . .’ he said. ‘The last time I saw you, you wanted to kill me.’ He smiled. He had small, white teeth. ‘Why are you here? It’s only a guess of course, but I don’t sense this is an assassination attempt gone wrong.’

  ‘No, it’s not.’ I fell silent again. Why hadn’t I rehearsed what I was going to say? Nat had been totally right, Riley wasn’t easy to lie to; how on earth was I going to convince him I genuinely wanted to join his team? I took another swig of water. Perhaps I should avoid that and simply say what was true.

  I twisted the cap on to my water bottle again, my hands trembling slightly. I knew Riley would have seen. I drew the blanket closer, covering my lap, then I spoke at last.

  ‘You said, the last time I saw you, that my father was alive,’ I said quietly. ‘I need to know if that is true.’

  Riley sat back, letting his hands rest on the sofa beside him. ‘Yes, Charlie, it is true. And it’s also true that he wants to meet you. Would you like that?’

  I looked up. I had the strongest sensation that Riley would see through any lie. Which made it just as well that I didn’t need to tell one.

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I would.’

  Nat

  It was the middle of the night and raining hard as I jogged along the dark road. I’d had to put the SIM card back in my phone for a few minutes in order to use the maps app to locate the wood near the ops base and the skin on the back of my neck prickled as I ran. Was somebody tracking me? I glanced around. Was I being watched? I couldn’t see anyone.

  My phone beeped several times in quick succession. Hoping the texts were from Charlie I took a speedy glance, only to find a series of increasingly angry messages from Aaron, sent several hours ago.

  Ignoring these, I checked the map one last time. If it was accurate, then the woodland I was looking for should be just around the corner. I switched off my phone and removed the SIM card again so that Aaron couldn’t trace me. I didn’t have a proper address for the operations base – which was basically a derelict farmhouse set in acres of field – but I was certain if I could just find the wooded area that surrounded it, I’d be able to track down the building itself no problem.

  The road was deserted as I ran around the corner. To my great relief the trees came immediately into view. I darted under the cover of their branches and took stock of where I was – we’d run through these woods several times during our training weekend here months ago. Even though it was dark, I was fairly confident that the farmhouse was through the trees and slightly to the east.

  I ran on, ducking under the wet branches, the bushes I passed damp against my legs. It felt different in here. I wasn’t spooked by the dark – the moon overhead gave off plenty of light – but the sound of the wind in the branches was like someone whispering the words ‘leave, leave’.

  I told myself not to let my imagination get the better of me. But the feeling someone was watching me persisted, not helped by the memories of the last time I ran through these woo
ds, trying to escape from Riley and his soldiers, with Charlie and Aaron at my side. The thought of Charlie sent a new anxiety spiralling through me. Where was she, I wondered? Had she reached Riley’s house? Was she speaking with him right now? Was she okay?

  Of all the people I’d ever met, Charlie was probably the most truly confident. And yet, though she was careful to hide it, I knew she was vulnerable too. All that rubbish about her not caring what Riley had said about her dad still being alive. Of course she cared. Anyone would.

  And I cared about her. More, far more, than I wanted to admit even to myself.

  It took about fifteen minutes to reach the edge of the trees. I stopped and peered out across the empty field beyond. Rain pattered loudly on the leaves above my head. The sound was strangely soothing, calming my raw nerves. I could just make out a light in the distance: that had to be coming from the ops base. The two sleeping bags – one tied on either side of the rucksack – made my bundle cumbersome. I took my knife, a torch and a length of rope and left the rest in the shelter of a tree. Now I was actually on the verge of approaching the farmhouse and finding Jas: I was so nervous I felt sick. If Riley’s men found me, they would kill me, just as they tried to kill me before.

  Part of me wanted to turn around and run away, back through the trees. But Jas was here, my twin sister, to whom I’d been closer, all my life, than anyone else in the world. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t at least try to save her.

  And then the sound of breaking twigs and rustling leaves filtered towards me. I froze, moving closer to the nearest tree. Was that an animal wandering through the wood? No, surely no woodland animal could possibly make that much noise. The sounds slowed. The distinct tread of footsteps echoed through the air. It was a person. An EFA soldier? That was most likely, considering how close the ops base was. Except I’d never met a soldier who crashed through the undergrowth so loudly.

  Still hiding behind my tree, I peered into the dark wood. A second later he lumbered into view, panting for breath and with a huge scowl on his face.