Every Second Counts

by Sophie McKenzie

  Uchi was silent for a moment. Then he cleared his throat. ‘The first thing you need to understand is that we’re engaged in a war.’

  ‘War?’ I frowned. ‘Against who?’

  ‘Against corrupt democratic governments.’ Uchi paused. ‘And in war, innocent people die. A big part of my philosophy is the necessity for leaders to lead, to take hard decisions, to be ruthless.’

  Hard decisions meant killing people. My heart thudded against my ribs.

  ‘Before I explain my philosophy, I want you to know that I have inspired quite a following in Eastern Europe,’ Uchi said proudly. ‘In fact, that’s where I got the name Uchi. Did I explain that? It’s from Ucitel, the Czech for “teacher”.’

  ‘I see.’ How could this man – my own flesh and blood – be talking about theories and teaching in the same breath as bombs and terrorism. Half of me wanted to understand. The other half wanted to yell that he and his views were obscene.

  ‘In my way,’ Uchi went on with a modest shrug, ‘I’ve been as influential as philosophical thinkers such as Gramsci and Locke.’

  I stared at him, blankly. ‘Who are they?’

  He shook his head. ‘Clearly your education leaves something to be desired. Let me put it in simple terms . . .’ He paused.

  Great, now I felt patronised on top of everything else.

  ‘If I had to sum it up in a sentence, I would say phase one of my revolutionary theory concerns the steps needed to infiltrate, then overthrow corrupt Western democracies.’

  I stared at him. ‘You mean like the League of Iron?’ I asked, struggling to keep the fury out of my voice. ‘Using violence to get power and stomping all over people who don’t agree with you or who’ve got the wrong colour skin?’

  ‘No. No, not at all,’ Uchi spluttered. ‘The League of Iron are racist thugs, fascists without a coherent philosophy.’

  ‘So you’re more like communists, then?’ I asked, remembering my History lessons last term.

  Uchi shook his head impatiently. ‘The Marxist-Leninist dialectic is as discredited as the tyrants who abused and oppressed in its name.’

  I stared at him, not wanting to admit I had no idea what he was talking about.

  ‘My revolution will lead to freedom, not tyranny,’ Uchi said, his eyes glittering. ‘Imagine England as a glacier – a river frozen in time by endless laws and small-minded bureaucracy. Once we shine the bright heat of our light on that river, it will melt and flow as nature intended. Take away the state and the people are free to move, to grow, to inspire others in their turn.’ He turned to me. ‘All who can make a contribution are welcome. All who wish to build a brave new England will find a role, a place, a home.’

  ‘And how do you know that the river-flowing stuff will follow after you’ve got rid of what’s here right now?’ I asked.

  ‘That’s what Riley and the Future Party are for,’ Uchi explained. ‘To make sure the country comes with us as we establish a new, libertarian society with basic protections for the vulnerable but everyone able to make their own way, unhampered by the state.’

  We turned a bend and emerged in front of a square, cream-painted cottage. The pretty green shutters at the window and the flowers which decorated the beds around the house made a sharp contrast with the high-barred gates that ran on either side of the building.

  ‘We can talk more later, but there is one thing I do need you to know right now.’ Uchi looked troubled. ‘I had no idea your mother was going to be in that market. And remember, until I read the victim list I didn’t know you existed. Even then, I assumed you were John’s. It was only several months after you’d joined the EFA and I’d checked your birth date that I realised you might be mine. I asked Riley to get a sample of your DNA. We did the test and – well, the rest you know. I wanted to meet you and have you join us, that’s why I asked Riley to bring you to me after the House of Commons explosion.’

  An explosion in which Nat had been left for dead. I couldn’t understand how Uchi could refer so calmly to a bomb blast that had killed and maimed people. I desperately wished Nat were here – he would be as appalled as I was. An image of his handsome, serious face flashed into my head. Where was he right now? Was he busy making plans against Riley? Was he thinking about me?

  ‘What do you say, Charlie?’ Uchi stopped as we reached the house. He was panting slightly, presumably from the exertion of walking along the drive. ‘I know you came here because you were curious about me, but will you stay and let me give you the special treatment and training you deserve?’

  ‘Special training?’ I frowned. ‘For what?’

  ‘Training to be part of the leadership this country will need. For now, a part to play at my side. Eventually perhaps a role like Riley’s . . .’ He hesitated. ‘Will you stay here with me?’

  A million emotions surged through my head. On the one hand I felt elated, this was exactly what I’d hoped for: a chance to be accepted, to find information I could use against Riley and the EFA. And yet I also felt miserable that I was related to Uchi and therefore to all the terrible things he had made happen. Worst of all – and I hated to admit this – a part of me was loving the fact that after all these years I finally had a father, someone who cared about me, who wanted to be with me.

  I looked down at the gravel. ‘I don’t know what to say,’ I mumbled.

  ‘Say yes,’ Uchi urged. ‘Apart from anything else, your aunt and uncle have disowned you, so you really have nowhere else to go.’

  Thanks to you and Riley framing me. I thought the words but I didn’t say them. After the House of Commons blast and my ‘kidnapping’ of Aaron, my aunt and uncle had totally swallowed the police line that I was a dangerous terrorist. I’d seen them say as much in a news interview.

  I carried on staring at the gravel, now feeling desperately uncomfortable. I wanted to tell Uchi that I was thrilled to be joining him, but – just as Nat had predicted – it was hard to lie, to cover up my real feelings.

  Uchi tilted his head to one side. ‘I can see you are angry, Charlie. I understand that. But your anger is a positive force and, though you may not believe it right now, everything that has happened in your life so far will serve you well in the future. And you do have a very bright future, Charlie, if you want it. You’re part of an elite, even if you haven’t yet realised it.’

  ‘Right.’ I sniffed. What a load of nonsense. Parveen and George and Nat were just as smart and strong as I was, but Uchi had been happy to see them all die.

  My head cleared at last. I was here to find out what I could about Riley’s operations in order to get evidence to expose him as a power-hungry murderer. Uchi clearly worked closely with Riley, so the closer I got to Uchi, the more likely I was to get proof to use against Riley.

  ‘So where do we begin?’ I asked. ‘More bombs?’

  ‘We have already begun – and yes, bombs are a part of it,’ Uchi said, looking pleased. ‘We live in a society where people have been brainwashed into thinking that democracy is the best method of government, that to run a country you need a big state. They’re wrong. I believe the state should be scaled right back – a few essential services, the army, the police. But aims like that are too radical for the masses, so the masses have to be nudged towards them.’

  ‘You “nudge” them by bombing them?’ I asked, genuinely bewildered.

  ‘Yes. We make people realise the state is corrupt and chaotic, then we step in to clear up the mess.’

  ‘But you’ve created the mess in the first place.’

  ‘Well, perhaps in a very narrow sense, but not really if you look at the big picture,’ Uchi said. ‘It’s like a tornado has already happened and thousands of homes are destroyed we’re just coming along and breaking up a few extra bits of furniture, just to make the point that everything’s gone.’

  It was on the tip of my tongue to point out that you could hardly compare breaking up some chairs with murdering people in markets, but I held myself back. I needed to convince Uchi t
hat I was at least open to his arguments.

  ‘Actually, there’s an important role I’d like you to play in our next operation, if you’re willing?’ Uchi raised his eyebrows.

  The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, despite the sunshine beating down. I hadn’t expected that. Obviously an invitation to join the very next job gave me a brilliant opportunity to get proof against Uchi and Riley. And Uchi seemed genuinely delighted to have me with him, but was Riley really prepared to confide in me so quickly?

  ‘Okay,’ I said, trying to keep the suspicion out of my voice. ‘What’s the “operation”?’

  ‘I’m not going to give you details right now,’ Uchi said, ‘but I will involve you, if you are genuinely prepared to join us. I hear you’re a very impressive junior EFA agent already, and I’m looking forward to seeing you in action.’ He smiled. ‘But enough of all that for now. Come on, you must be tired after your journey and I’m certainly tired of standing. Let’s go into the house.’

  I glanced at the cottage again. A second soldier, as young as the guard who had followed us up the path was standing at the door. I suddenly remembered what Riley had said about this being his family’s home, the place where his son and his son’s mother lived. Was I going to meet them too?

  ‘It really is wonderful to be with you at last,’ Uchi said.

  I turned back to him. His dark eyes gleamed with emotion. Instinct told me that whatever terrible atrocities he had planned in the past or was planning for the future, he truly wanted me to join him and to believe in his stupid theories.

  ‘Thank you,’ I said, forcing a smile on to my lips. ‘It’s great to meet you too . . . Dad.’

  Nat

  Jas and I talked for over an hour while my head cleared properly from the drug Riley had given me. Our conversation skittered over a whole bunch of stuff, from our concerns over what Riley was doing to smaller, sillier memories from our shared past at home and school. The only subjects we steered well clear of were Jas’s feelings for Aaron and mine for Charlie. I held back mostly from awkwardness. Jas had never had a proper boyfriend before and there had never been anyone serious for me, either. I didn’t know how to talk to her about that, and all other topics seemed easier.

  ‘How are Mum and Dad?’ I asked.

  ‘Worried about you.’ Jas sniffed. ‘Mum’s spending even more time at the hospital than ever. Apparently Lucas opened his eyes or moved his hand or something. Only for a few seconds and the doctors said it was a good sign but didn’t necessarily mean anything, but Mum’s convinced he’s about to come out of his coma.’

  We fell silent. Mum’s obsession with Lucas’s recovery had been going on since the bomb that had left him unconscious. I wasn’t surprised to hear she was still spending all her time at the hospital, but I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anger. She should have been focused on Jas since I’d been gone, looking after her, not wasting time at Lucas’s bedside. No wonder Jas had been spending so much time with Aaron and his family.

  ‘Nat?’ Jas tugged at my arm.

  ‘What, sorry?’

  ‘I know I keep asking, but what do you think Riley’s done with Aaron?’ Colour rose in her cheeks. ‘I’m—’

  But before she could finish her sentence, the door swung open and Aaron himself was pushed inside. As he stumbled across the floor, Jas scrambled to her feet and rushed over.

  I watched as she flung her arms around him. He held her tightly, then drew back enough to take her face in his hands and kiss her. Jas beamed up at him. Man, she was totally in love.

  I looked away. It wasn’t just that it felt weird seeing Jas with someone, but couldn’t she do better than Aaron? Even if he wasn’t secretly working for Riley, he was still – well, he was a bit of a prat.

  The three of us sat on the mattresses, discussing our situation. Aaron – his arm around Jas’s shoulders – claimed he’d been drugged and that, like me, he’d had his phone taken from him.

  ‘Riley questioned and questioned me,’ he whispered. ‘I told him I was an IT geek, so he’d believe how I tracked your phone. Luckily, he knows I couldn’t have said anything to my dad about coming here, so my dad’s cover is still intact.’ He paused. ‘Which means he won’t hurt us.’

  ‘It means he won’t hurt you,’ I said. ‘It’s your father Riley’s all bessie mates with, not ours.’

  Aaron looked shocked. Jas squeezed his hand, then looked up at me.

  ‘What d’you think they are going to do with us?’ she asked.

  I shook my head, not wanting to speak out loud my belief that the only possible reason Riley could have for keeping me here was to kill me. Jas too, now she’d become involved.

  ‘Maybe he’s going to try and use Nat to run another mission for him,’ Aaron suggested.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ I muttered.

  Jas gasped. ‘Suppose Aaron’s right? Suppose he wants to use all of us for a mission?’

  ‘He won’t,’ I said. Again, I didn’t want to say it, but the idea that Riley would want to use either untrained Aaron or anxious Jas on any kind of mission was ridiculous.

  ‘You don’t know that for sure,’ Aaron said, sitting forward. ‘He might want us to set off a bomb like he got you to do before.’

  ‘I didn’t know it was a bomb,’ I snapped, irritation rising inside me. ‘He won’t use us if he can’t completely trust us and as he can’t—’

  ‘He might force you somehow,’ Aaron interrupted.

  ‘I’m telling you there’s no way I’d do anything for Riley, not even if he says he’ll kill me.’ I stopped at the sight of Jas’s horrified expression.

  ‘Kill you?’ she gasped. ‘For not doing what he says? Oh, Nat, no.’

  I stared at her helplessly.

  ‘Hey, hey . . . shh . . .’ Aaron hugged Jas to him. ‘I won’t let anyone hurt Nat.’

  ‘Is that right?’ I said, feeling riled. How on earth did Aaron think he was in any position to protect me? Jas sniffed back her tears, then gazed up at him adoringly. Aaron grinned back at her and a dimple appeared in his cheek.

  I rolled my eyes. That smile of his was just about the most annoying thing I’d ever seen. Still, at least Jas had stopped crying. I stood up, walked over to the window and gazed out through the bars. With both door and window locked, there was no way out of this room. No way to escape what I was more and more sure Riley had planned: our murders.

  ‘I think Nat’s a little uncomfortable with us going out together,’ Aaron said lightly from across the room.

  I said nothing.

  ‘No, Aaron, Nat likes you,’ Jas insisted. She looked up at me. ‘Don’t you, Nat?’

  ‘Mmm . . .’ I stared out at the fields below.

  An uneasy silence fell. Aaron came over and stood beside me at the window. He took a deep breath.

  ‘Is there a problem?’

  I turned to face him. ‘Jas says you’re sound, but I don’t know if I can trust you. I think maybe you were in on this whole thing.’

  ‘No, Nat,’ Jas insisted. She was hunched on her mattress, hugging her knees and looking up at us with big eyes.

  Aaron spread his hands. ‘I’m locked up, same as you,’ he said. ‘Doesn’t that count for anything?’

  ‘Not really.’ I looked away.

  Aaron moved closer, lowering his voice, so Jas couldn’t hear. ‘Are you sure this isn’t mostly about me being with your sister?’ he asked.

  ‘No,’ I muttered, also keeping my voice low. ‘But now you mention it, I’m not sure you two seeing each other is a good thing, your dad being who he is.’

  Aaron’s face darkened.

  ‘What are you two saying?’ Jas asked.

  ‘Nat’s just asking about my dad,’ Aaron said. He turned to me and lowered his voice to a whisper again. ‘And I’m telling him that my dad is trying to expose Riley exactly like he is, none of which has anything to do with me and your sister.’ His cheeks flushed a bright red.

  I said nothing, just stared out of the wi
ndow. A few moments passed; the room filled with tension.

  Then Aaron folded his arms and leaned over, his mouth by my ear.

  ‘I’m dating your sister, Nat,’ he hissed. ‘Get over it.’

  I shook my head. ‘Fine,’ I muttered. ‘But I have no idea what she sees in you.’

  Another pause. I kept my gaze on the woods outside, but I could feel my face burning. That had been rude. And stupid. Regardless of whether or not Aaron was a Riley spy, there was no point antagonising him. And it wasn’t fair on Jas either. I turned to him, ready to apologise but, much to my surprise, Aaron was smiling.

  ‘I have no idea what she sees in me either,’ he chuckled. ‘She’s way out of my league, but there you go.’

  I grinned in spite of myself as the tension eased and Aaron moved away, back to Jas. He was still an idiot – and possibly worse. But I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. For now.

  Outside, the sun was getting lower on the horizon, the sky dotted with clouds. Suddenly I missed Charlie with a physical pain.

  ‘Nat?’ Jas said, her voice timid.

  I turned around.

  ‘We need to find a way out of here,’ she said.

  I nodded. ‘I know, but the doors and windows are locked, the guards are armed . . .’ I looked at her, helplessly. ‘I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘Then let us help you work out what to do,’ Aaron said earnestly. ‘You’re the one with the training. Go through the options. Jas and I will help you make a plan. I can run fast and I can fight too . . .’

  I opened my mouth to tell him that fighting would be of no help whatsoever – and then it struck me that, if we were smart about it, fighting our way out of here was, in fact, our best option.

  I frowned, as an idea bubbled into my head.

  ‘What?’ Aaron asked. ‘What are you thinking?’

  I went over and crouched down beside them. ‘Listen,’ I said. ‘Then I drew them close and whispered my plan.

  Charlie

  I followed Uchi into the cottage. In spite of all my anxieties I was intrigued to meet Riley’s son. I was expecting a little boy – after all, Riley was only in his early thirties – so I was taken by complete surprise when a tall, black-haired teenager in black jeans and a grey jumper slouched out of the kitchen, a shorter, dark-skinned woman at his side.