Every Second Counts

by Sophie McKenzie

  ‘And you believe in democracy?’

  ‘It’s the least worst system we have,’ Latimer said.

  His words echoed a conversation I’d had with Charlie not so long ago. Where was she? Was she alright? It tore me apart to know that there was nothing I could do for her right now. In a nanosecond I went from feeling useless to feeling cross.

  ‘And I suppose you’re selling yourself as the least worst guy?’ I snapped.

  Latimer chuckled. ‘If you like,’ he said. ‘I’ve been called worse . . . Er, where do you want me to take you?’

  ‘Home first,’ I said. ‘You’re right that Jas should be with Mum and Dad. I want them to take her away somewhere she’ll be safe.’

  ‘What about you?’

  ‘I’m going to stop Riley,’ I said. ‘I want to get proof that he’s used and murdered people just to get power.’

  ‘Me too,’ Latimer said.

  I didn’t sleep as we drove home. I still half expected Latimer to take a turning for Riley’s house. But he didn’t and by six-thirty a.m. we were parked at the end of my road. I had worried that Riley might have spies watching out for our return, but there was no one in sight. I left Jas asleep in the car with Aaron and let myself in, using the spare key from under the loose paving slab out front.

  No one was home. I looked around, from room to room. It was weird seeing all the familiar things in the house – little details like the photos in the living room, and the piano Jas used to play, and her room – full of dressmaking fabric – and mine, which I’d once shared with Lucas. I felt completely disconnected from everything I saw, as if they belonged to another person and another life.

  I didn’t want to linger, so after a couple of minutes I let myself out and headed back to Latimer’s car. ‘Mum and Dad aren’t there,’ I said.

  ‘So where now?’ Latimer asked. ‘Your dad’s workplace?’

  I glanced at Jas.

  ‘We should try the hospital,’ she said. ‘Mum often takes Dad to visit at this time.’

  I nodded. ‘Riley will think of that too, so we need to be careful.’

  The hospital was fairly busy, though the visitosr’ car park was barely a third full. I spotted Mum and Dad’s car straight away. So they were here. I asked Latimer to drop me and Jas, then leave.

  ‘What about Aaron?’ asked Jas.

  ‘Yeah, I’m not leaving Jas,’ Aaron added.

  ‘Jas needs to hide and your house is too obvious, Aaron.’ I turned to Jas. Mum and Dad will find somewhere safe; it’s the best thing.’

  Jas’s lips trembled, but she nodded.

  ‘But how will I know where she is?’ Aaron protested, his voice swelling with emotion. ‘I need to be able to contact her, to know she’s okay.’ He pulled Jas towards him. ‘I don’t like this. I mean, how long d’you think we’ll have to be apart?’

  Two fat tears trickled down Jas’s face. ‘Oh, Aaron.’ Her voice broke over the words.

  For goodness’ sake. Couldn’t Aaron see he wasn’t helping? ‘Please don’t make this harder than it needs to be,’ I said.

  Aaron hugged Jas tightly. ‘Oh, babe, I don’t want you to go,’ he said.

  ‘I know,’ Jas wept, clinging to him as if her life depended on it. ‘I’ll miss you so, so much.’

  I stared, helplessly, at Latimer.

  ‘Nat’s right, Aaron,’ Latimer said firmly. ‘Best Jas goes – and safer for her if we don’t know where right now.’

  ‘I’ll call you when I’m settled.’ Jas disentangled herself, tears still streaming down her face.

  Aaron looked close to tears himself, but he nodded. Latimer cleared his throat. He looked from Jas to me. ‘Please don’t either of you forget I’m here if you need anything.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Jas said.

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ I said.

  ‘Okay.’ Latimer hesitated. ‘Look, Nat, I’ll give you my number. You can call me later for news about the resistance. I’m expecting a call from the guy in Resistance Pair Eight later, there’s supposed to be a meeting today. I don’t know where yet. I’ll be told at the last minute. I’d be happy to bring you along, if you like.’

  ‘I can sort it on my own,’ I said. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Right, but if you don’t manage to link up with them, please call me. I can get you supplies, food, shelter – whatever you need.’ He reached into the bag at his feet and handed me a box containing a brand new, sealed PAYG phone. Just one glance at the brand name showed me it was a high-quality mobile. Ten crisp fifty-pound notes lay on top, plus a business card with the Mayor’s mobile number. ‘Take this, it might help.’

  I stared at the money. I didn’t want to take anything Latimer was offering, but it was stupid to refuse money and a phone. I took the box, the business card and two of the notes, then pushed the rest of the cash back to Latimer. ‘I’ll pay you back,’ I said.

  ‘No need.’

  I scrambled out of the car. Jas gave Aaron a final hug, then got out too, wiping her face. Aaron looked devastated. ‘See you soon, yeah? And call me – it’s a new phone, a new number, remember, so no bugs. Okay?’ Jas nodded, her lips trembling again.

  ‘Come on.’ I took her arm, before she could burst into tears again, and led her across the hospital car park. I knew there would be CCTV cameras here, so I told Jas to pull up her hood and did the same with mine. Jas and I made our way swiftly through the hospital corridors towards the ward where Lucas had lain since the bomb left him in a coma. As we walked I took the number of the phone Latimer had just given me and made Jas memorise it so she could call later.

  ‘But not until it’s safe, understand?’

  ‘Yes . . . Um, Nat?’ Jas said timidly as we entered the lift to the second floor. ‘Er . . . do you like Aaron?’

  I stared at my shoes, feeling awkward. ‘He’s okay, I guess.’ I hesitated. ‘But it’s what you think of him that counts, isn’t it?’

  There was a silence. The lift doors opened. As we stepped out, Jas said quietly, ‘I love him.’

  ‘Right.’ Now I felt really embarrassed. I didn’t know how to tell her that I thought Aaron was a bit of an idiot and not anywhere near good enough for her. ‘O-kay.’

  Jas glanced at me nervously, like she wanted to say more. Luckily a few moments later we reached Lucas’s room.

  I peered in through the window. Mum and Dad were sitting on either side of his bed. Mum was holding Lucas’s hand. She looked even more exhausted than when I’d last seen her five weeks ago. And surely Dad’s face hadn’t been that lined when I’d left. I glanced at Lucas, at the pale, smooth skin of his face, at his closed eyes and at all the tubes and wires running in and out of his body. He – on the other hand – looked exactly the same as when I’d last been here.

  As Jas opened the door, Mum and Dad looked up. They saw her, then me right behind. Dad’s jaw dropped. Mum gasped. For a second we stood, staring at each other, then Jas was across the room and hurling herself into Dad’s arms. He hugged her, but his eyes were on me.

  ‘Oh, Nat . . .’ Mum stood up. All the colour had drained from her face.

  ‘What are you doing here, Nat? Are you sure it’s safe?’ Dad asked.

  ‘How did Jas find you? Are you both okay? Jas, where’ve you been? Did you stay at Aaron’s? I was worried when you didn’t call. Oh, but Nat, you look so thin.’ The words tumbled out of Mum in a sob.

  The three of them walked over and for a moment we huddled together, our arms entwined. I was the first to pull away. Good though it was to see my parents, something felt different about them. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but it was definitely there.

  ‘Jas didn’t find me, Mum,’ I explained. ‘I found her.’

  ‘What?’ Dad frowned. ‘We thought she was with Aar—’

  ‘She was kidnapped,’ I interrupted.

  Mum gasped again. ‘No, please God, no.’

  Jas quickly explained how she’d been taken by Riley’s men. I took up the story, describing how Aaron had
called me and I’d gone to rescue her.

  ‘But why didn’t you call us?’ Dad asked.

  I looked at him. With a jolt I realised I was actually a centimetre or two taller than him now. When had that happened? I’d been taller than Mum for ages now, but not Dad. I remembered Lucas – who of course had shot past Dad soon after he turned fourteen – teasing me about my height, or lack of it, when I was a kid.

  ‘Nat, why didn’t you tell us what was going on?’ Dad insisted.

  ‘Nat didn’t want you to worry,’ Jas offered timidly.

  ‘But—’ Dad started.

  ‘There’s no time to talk,’ I said flatly. ‘Jas and Aaron and I got away, but Riley wants us dead. He was using Jas to get to me, but now she’s a witness to what he’s done. She’s in as much danger as I am. You need to take her away somewhere, keep her safe while I get it sorted.’

  ‘Get it sorted?’ Dad echoed, his forehead etched with a frown. ‘How can you get Roman Riley sorted? What can you do, alone?’

  ‘I’m not alone,’ I said. ‘There’s a resistance. Aaron’s dad is part of it.’ I stopped. The truth was that the resistance was weak and disorganised – and I still couldn’t really be sure of Latimer. I knew I could trust Parveen, but I had no idea what had happened to her. Which left just me and Charlie – and what could two teenagers do against the cleverest, most ruthless politician in the country? ‘That doesn’t matter right now,’ I went on. ‘What counts is you protecting Jas. You have to take her away somewhere safe.’

  Dad nodded. But Mum looked horrified. She indicated the hospital bed behind us, where Lucas lay, pale and still as ever.

  ‘What about him?’ she said. ‘The doctors say he’s been showing signs of altered consciousness, that his condition is changing.’

  ‘Doesn’t mean he’s going to wake up, love,’ Dad said wearily and I sensed this was a conversation my parents had had more than once in the past few weeks.

  Mum looked at him, then at Jas and me. ‘I can’t leave your brother,’ she said, her mouth trembling. ‘He needs me.’

  There was a silence.

  Dad and Jas looked down at the floor. Fury filled me. I glared at Mum.

  ‘Jas needs you,’ I snapped. ‘Lucas is in a coma. You need to get it together, Mum, because Jas is here and really needs your help, while Lucas isn’t properly here at all – and you can’t help him anyway. Stop putting him first. Stop putting your own need to be here first.’

  Mum’s eyes filled with tears. I could feel the shock radiating off Jas and Dad. For a moment I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. I gritted my teeth. My feelings weren’t relevant. I had to be strong for Jas’s sake.

  ‘Nat, there’s no need to talk to your mother like—’ Dad started.

  ‘And you’re just as bad,’ I said, turning on him. ‘Spending all your time at work so you don’t have to deal with the mess this family has become.’

  Dad’s jaw dropped. I took a step back, away from both of them. ‘Okay, now listen. You have to leave. Now. Take Jas and go. It doesn’t matter where, but it needs to be somewhere Riley won’t find you.’

  ‘Nat, please . . .’ Tears streamed down Mum’s face.

  ‘There’s no time to talk any more,’ I said, steeling myself. I looked from her to Dad. ‘This nonsense over Lucas ends here. Start doing your freakin’ job as parents and look after your daughter.’

  And with that I turned on my heel and walked out.

  I sped along the corridor and down the stairs, all the way to the ground floor. I broke into a run as I turned on to the pavement. I hated how harsh I had been. I just hoped I’d said enough to make Mum and Dad act. My nose and throat tingled, tears pricked at my eyes. I forced them back. My job now was to carry on finding a way to help Charlie expose Riley. It was the only way to keep my family safe.

  I pulled the phone Latimer had given me out of my pocket, determined to try and call her again. The screen swam, blurrily in front of my eyes. I wiped my face angrily. This was no time for tears.

  Charlie’s number was now out of service. I didn’t know who else to try, so I rang Julius to see if Resistance Nine had heard from her. As the phone rang, I wondered uneasily if Riley’s men were still trying to find us.

  The mobile rang a second time. And a third. But Julius didn’t answer. I didn’t want to leave a proper message, so when the call went to voicemail I just said, ‘Call me,’ and switched off.

  A few moments later, as I rounded the next corner, my phone rang. An unknown number showed on the screen. Could that be Charlie? If she’d lost her own mobile, she might have had to borrow – or even steal – another to contact me.

  It was a risk, but one I was prepared to take. Glancing around, I lifted the mobile to my ear.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Nat?’ It was a girl. Was it her?

  ‘Charlie?’ I could hear the desperation in my own voice.

  ‘Nah – and charming message you left for Julius just now, by the way.’

  I gasped. ‘Parveen? Are you okay?’

  ‘Never better.’ There was a dry chuckle on the other end of the line. ‘But you sound like crap.’

  Charlie

  The entire day and another whole night had passed and I still hadn’t managed to get hold of a phone – or a computer – in order to warn Nat and the resistance about Operation Neptune. If Gracie and Spider had mobiles, they must keep them well hidden. As for computers or other gadgets, the only ones I had seen were the password-protected machines in Uchi’s locked office.

  Anyway, since he’d caught me outside Uchi’s office Taylor had barely let me out of his sight. He had come up to me the very next morning and in a low, menacing voice, said: ‘Your father might have bought into your sudden conversion to our cause, but not me. And not Riley.’

  I looked up into his mean green eyes. Once I had thought Taylor was a hero. Now I loathed him for betraying us. I couldn’t hide how I felt. Taylor would see through any attempt at pretence anyway. No, my best bet was to admit my feelings towards him.

  In any deception, use as much of the truth as you can.

  This was one of Taylor’s own maxims – and it would surely help me now.

  ‘Just because I hate you, doesn’t mean I don’t believe in what Uchi is trying to achieve. I understand that sometimes people’s lives have to be sacrificed – and I’m up for this mission we’re training for,’ I said, keeping my gaze level. ‘I just think you should have trusted me and the others, not used us. You should have cared whether we lived or died.’

  A shadow passed across Taylor’s face. For a moment he looked taken aback, then his expression hardened again.

  ‘I did care, Charlie. I care about what we’re trying to achieve. Just remember that’s what’s important here. Not you. Not me. Not any individual.’

  ‘I know that,’ I said.

  Taylor drew himself up. I could see he didn’t believe me. ‘I know that, what?’

  I took a deep breath. One day I would get my revenge on Taylor. But now was not the time.

  ‘I know that, sir,’ I said.

  Taylor kept Spider and me busy with our underwater training for the rest of the day. As ever his training was clear, focused and effective. Each time we swam we tried to extend the length of time we could stay underwater and the number of hoops we were able to swim through. By the end of the afternoon we were both able to do the full circuit – there and back – three times without taking a breath. And Spider himself was growing on me. I could see that his arrogant airs and graces were really just a defence mechanism, that under the surface he was actually a bit lonely. I caught him looking at me several times and, though he made a face on each occasion, asking haughtily what I wanted, I sensed he would have liked to get to know me better, that all he was really waiting for was a little encouragement.

  It was flattering that someone so good-looking was interested, but Nat still filled my mind: Nat and me together, the way that felt – not just the touch of his fingers on my skin, bu
t how I felt whole when he was with me. Spider might have model-style good looks, but the way I felt about Nat went far beyond superficial stuff like cheekbones and curly hair. Still, if Spider liked me, maybe I should use the fact to get him chatting. Perhaps I could even talk him out of the bomb plot. Spider was still young and, though Riley and his mum had clearly completely indoctrinated him, maybe with a bit more time I’d be able to show him that blowing people up could never be justified, especially if the aim behind killing them was to help put Roman Riley in charge of the country.

  It was a different story with Uchi. There was no way he was ever going to change his mind about what the EFA were doing. And though I could see he liked the idea that he’d found his long-lost daughter, he didn’t quite know what to do with the reality of an actual person. He’d seemed surprised when I’d asked why, if he was so delighted to have me in his life, he was prepared to let me take on such a risky mission. ‘Because you’re an elite soldier, Charlie,’ he’d said, as if this was obvious. ‘You’re trained, you’re smart and you’re naturally cool under pressure. It’s your destiny to be involved.’ I wasn’t sure how to take any of that, though I couldn’t deny that I had liked hearing his praise.

  Not wanting to think about Uchi – or the fact that my own father was behind Riley’s evil – I focused on our training. At least I was able to keep up with Spider now when we swam and I clung to the slim chance that I’d be able to find some way of disabling the bomb before it went off. Or, maybe more realistically, at least an opportunity to warn the people at the party. I was also determined to get my revenge on Taylor. Riley and Uchi might have masterminded the blast that killed Mum, but it was Taylor who had actually sent the bomb into the marketplace.

  These thoughts and emotions crowded my head throughout my second day and I slept fitfully that night, finally falling asleep just before dawn, then waking late.

  I splashed some water on my face and hurried downstairs, determined today to find a way of contacting Nat, whatever it took.