As Oengus stepped past the tramp he was grabbed by the ankle.
“Bullets won’t stop me,” the tramp said, albeit weakly.
He twisted on Oengus’s knee to bring him down and Oengus stumbled. The tramp grabbed the sword by the blade and it turned a deep crimson.
To his horror as Oengus fell the sword went through the chest of the tramp. There was a flash of red light and then the sword lost its pulsating color.
John shook his head. “Oengus for your information you just killed your father,” he said.
In shock, Oengus let go the sword.
“Takes a God to kill a God,” John said pulling the sword out of the tramp.
He plunged the sword into the water to clean it and the contaminant disappeared in a pulse of energy. The pulse of energy touched everything wet in the tunnel including those who had been in the contaminated water.
“Well done,” Dutronc said. “It appears to work.”
“We need to proceed with reasonable haste,” Dutronc added. “But I think we will just sit tight for long enough to be sure the contamination of the water is gone. Then we should recommence, contaminate the system and get out of here. We can then manage going forward once we have tidied up.” As he spoke Dutronc took an automatic pistol out of his shoulder holster and checked that the safety was off.
Up above in the park the Chief took a call on his cell.
“The contaminant has gone again,” he said.
“Just get me down there, it looks like John and Peter are the hero’s of the day,” Jane said, feeling relieved and thinking ‘John must have plunged the Great Fury into the water again.’
Fox news led the charge as the news came through. Jane left the Chief to deal with them.
“We’ve broken through,” a fireman said.
“How?”
“We followed the drawings. But it looks like someone else made a gap before us,” he said.
“Take me there,” Jane said.
“Excellent result,” Dutronc said, adding, “`now we can contaminate and de-contaminate at will.”
“If I get my deal,” John said with a smile.
Dutronc shot him in the forehead, pleased that his eye was in and he was still a good shot. He’d figured a headshot would result in the sword dropping onto the walkway and he was correct. He walked over and picked it up. “I’ll look after this,” he said.
“Put it back in the scabbard,” Morag suggested.
Dutronc picked up the scabbard and sheathed the sword.
“Carry on Morag,” he said, “I’ve seen enough.”
Hugo shook himself. He was in shock at the apparent casual end of John’s life.
“Joey,” he said, indicating to his frozen friend.
Morag undid the spell with a gesture and Joey hit the ground shivering but otherwise ok. Hugo helped him to his feet.
“We’re out of here,” he said.
“Sorry,” Dutronc said and shot them both.
I’ll leave my pistol,” Dutronc said, putting it on the ground. But only after he’d wiped off his fingerprints, adding, “It may be useful.”
“And then there were eight,” Morag said as Dutronc disappeared upstream towards the normal exit, guiding his way by torch, holding the Great Fury under his arm.
“Where’s he going?” Deirdre asked.
“His limo is prearranged for the upstream exit,” Morag explained.
“I think me and Dearg Due and Leanan should go also,” the Greyman suggested. “You don’t need us now.”
Dearg Due pushed John’s body into the water.
“They’ll all end up in the Water Treatment Plant,” she said with satisfaction as John’s body was taken by the current.
She retrieved Hugo’s handgun and Joey’s knife and pushed their bodies into the water.
“Just hang about until we reset the contaminant,” Morag instructed. She threw John’s gun to the Greyman who caught it and put it into his voluminous cloak. She carefully picked up Dutronc’s gun by the barrel and threw it to Deirdre who caught it and put it into her dress pocket.
“What about Maedbh and Peter?” Dearg Due asked.
“Oh yes, should I push them in?” the Greyman suggested.
“No, we have to be sure to kill them,” Morag said firmly. “We don’t want any witnesses running around.”
“We should keep the witch, she has a sound heart,” Deirdre reminded her.
“Can I have the boy, he looks tasty,” Dearg Due asked.
“Leanan has first go at Oengus,” the Greyman added.
“Oh, Leanan?” Morag said.
She’d forgotten Leanan. She undid the frozen spell and with a groan Leanan got to her feet.
The Greyman and Dearg Due grabbed Oengus and pushed him in the direction of Maedbh and Peter.
Deirdre cackled and began her spell to recontaminate the water. But she stopped when they heard noise.
They knew someone was coming when a flashlight came through from the disused Reservoir tunnel.
“Tie them,” Morag said, indicating to Peter and Maedbh and to Oengus.
“Deirdre get on with it,” she added.
The Greyman used some of the electrical cable and secured the three of them together.
Then they waited to see who was coming down the tunnel.
Jane and two firemen arrived with a clatter of shoes and heels.
They were amazed to find the area fully illuminated by artificial light. Then they took in Deirdre dancing around a cauldron that she had replaced over her fire. She was adding ingredients from her pile on the floor with obvious industry and enthusiasm.
The Greyman watched as Leanan moved on one of the firemen. Her smile was pretty and attractive and she embraced and kissed him like a long lost friend. When she stood back he looked like a shipwreck as all the negatives of his life came to the fore. In despair he threw himself into the churning water.
Dearg Due’s embrace was of different kind. Jane watched in horror, too terrified to scream, as Dearg Due slurped the blood from the other fireman’s body and threw the remains into the water. Jane fainted before the Greyman could take her in his embrace.
“Put her with the others,” Morag said impatiently.
The Greyman dragged Jane over to the others and secured Jane in place.
“Can I keep them as food stocks for special occasions?” Dearg Due asked, referring to Peter and Jane.
“I think we have to kill them soon,” Morag said with a smile.
“Maybe wait a few minutes until I get my appetite back,” Dearg Due requested.
“Yes and I have a vengeance to pick with that Oengus,” Leanan said.
“Priority one, we do the spell,” Morag insisted, getting into position alongside Deirdre.
As she spoke a gunshot reverberated through the tunnel seemingly coming from upstream in the direction in which Dutronc has disappeared. In addition from a different direction, there was a noise and light flashes as it appeared more people were coming down the tunnel track by which Jane had arrived.
“Greyman,” she said, “your job is to make sure no-one else comes down that tunnel.”
“Dearg Due, you go upstream and investigate who fired that shot.”
“Make sure Dutronc is alright,” she added, her voice showing concern for her boss Dutronc.
The Greyman drew John’s revolver and made his way into the disused tunnel whilst Dearg Due changed into a bat and flew at speed upstream, leaving Leanan to guard their prisoners.
Dearg Due flew at speed passing a horse and cat that were galloping back downstream.
She reemerged as herself and walked back downstream.
“Hi,” Morag wants to know if you are all right,” she said when she c
ame across Dutronc pulling himself out of the water.
“Damm horse and cat!” he swore.
“A horse and a cat,” Dearg Due said.
“Yes they were travelling at me at speed. I think somebody, probably a security guard fired at them upstream. The horse must have panicked and ran back the way they came.”
“I’ll deal with them,” Dearg Due said.
“I need to go.” Dutronc said.
Dearg Due watched him go. Then she took off in pursuit of the cat and horse.
***
“Ready, the mixture is hot enough,” Deirdre said and they began to chant the contamination spell while stirring the cauldron.
Maedbh opened her eyes. The immobilization spell was wearing off. She was tied to Peter and Oengus but was comfortable with that. Peter was also coming round. Maedbh strained to see around him in order to watch the two witches in action. It was not often at her stage of apprenticeship that she got to watch the real thing in a real situation and she was fascinated.
Peter opened his eyes to see Maedbh’s face opposite and apparently staring in his direction. He kissed her and Maedbh rose in outrage but then melted against him.
Chapter twenty-nine
The horse and the cat, pursued by the bat came into the tunnel at a gallop.
Without breaking rhythm Morag nailed the two of them with her immobilization spell. The bat landed as Dearg Due.
“We may get people with guns coming downstream,” she warned.
“Stop, I can’t concentrate, we have to start again,” Morag said minutes later as the mystery of the cat and horse interfered with her concentration.
Deirdre swore under her breath. She as aware that there was a limited amount of firewood near to hand and the spell needed a good hot boil to work well. But so far the situation was only tending serious but not yet critical. She incanted a pause and looked to Morag for further instruction.
“Where the hell did the horse come from?” Morag demanded.
“It must be a shape shifting Puca,” Dearg Due suggested. “We should have killed the cat and the poodle,” she added, addressing her remark to the Greyman, who was now stationed at the entrance to the Reservoir tunnel.
“Recriminations later,” Morag said. “I undo the spell. You get the Puca to do his poodle thing and we put the cat and the poodle with the prisoners for further investigation, “ she instructed crisply.
Dearg Due bared her fangs at the horse while holding Venus by the neck fur. “Ready,” she said.
Morag waved a hand and muttered an incantation to undo her spell.
Puca neighed but took one look at the fangs and did his poodle thing, having heard the instruction, his ears still working when immobilized. Venus wriggled but she was held fast.
“What’s’ going on?” Jane asked as she recovered from her faint.
“Hi!” Oengus said, somewhat embarrassed to be tied facing Jane and not knowing where to look.
“Who are you?” Jane asked, wriggling as she realized she was tied. She was pleased she had worn her long pantsuit that day as she was all over the place and the buttons of her blouse had popped to show her bra.
“This is Oengus. John is his uncle or rather was. John is dead, someone shot him,” Peter explained.
“What!”
“Peter what were you doing tied up and kissing that girl,” she demanded further.
“Sorry, we got distracted. I’m Maedbh,” Maedbh explained with a light blush rising to her cheeks.
“Really!” Jane said in disparaging tones. “This is not what I hired you for Peter.”
“Right,” Peter agreed.
“What’s going on?” Jane demanded.
“As I understand it,” Peter said. “That lady called Deirdre is conducting the preparation of some sort of a chemical mixture designed to re-infect the water system. The others, that is those not tied up, are her collaborators.”
“I demand our immediate release,” Jane said as Dearg Due came with the cat and poodle and tying more cabling to their collars, she secured them to Oengus’s right leg.
Dearg Due smiled, her fangs gleaming in the yellow light of the lamps. “Speak another word and you’ll have the blood sucked out of you like the fireman,” she said with a mild smile.
Jane shrank back against Oengus, wide eyed and believing. This is a scary woman she thought to herself.
“We need to cover off the down stream tunnel,” Morag said, having done a mental review of their situation. She could see things were getting fraught and the spell was not yet in place and hidden away. Time was tight.
“Morag, I spoke to Mr. Dutronc. He is fine and agreed he’d leave the upstream tunnel. He also suggested we create a hostage situation with the prisoners to buy more time,” Dearg Due said.
“Check it out downstream,” Morag said.
Jane’s eyes widened further and she bit back a scream as the woman with the fangs turned into a bat and lit off into the tunnel at speed.
“We’ll recommence when Dearg Due gets back,” Morag said, signaling a small break.
Dearg Due was but minutes in time.
“Some movement,” she reported.
“Take a gun and guard the downstream entrance,” Morag instructed.
Morag reviewed the situation. Everything was quiet. The tunnels were guarded. They needed but little time and they could cast the spell, secure the prisoners and consider how to exit. The upstream tunnel was clearly a point of weakness.
“Leanan, you’ll have to cover the upstream tunnel,” she instructed.
“What!” Leanan was startled. “I can’t fire a gun, and yeah like they’ll have machine guns.”
“I can let you have Hugo’s pistol,” Dearg Due suggested.
“Maybe,” Leanan said doubtfully.
“I’ve a better idea Leanan,” Morag said. “Walk upstream to them, tell them you are a hostage and the message is that if they come down the tunnel the hostages die.”
Clearly plan A had gone off the rails but Morag was calm, deciding all she would need is a plan B.
“Lets’ carry on,” she said.
Deirdre threw some more wood under the cauldron.
Doubtfully yet determined, Leanan made her way into the upstream part of the tunnel system carrying only a torch.
“You need to get to your sword before they kill us,” Venus mewed a whisper.
“My sword?” Oengus replied and then the penny dropped, there was only one sword in question and that had belonged to his now dead uncle John. But Dutronc had taken it with him.
“Puca?” Oengus asked.
“Sorry can’t shape shift, she’s tied my collar. I could probably do different types of dog or a circus bear with a collar?”
“No point, you’ll still be tied by the collar and there is wire through these cables,” Venus advised.
“Is that boy talking to the cat and dog?’ Jane asked.
“Seems to be,” Peter agreed.
“It’s ok,” Maedbh said.
“Sorry,” Oengus said, “trying to figure a way out before they kill us.”
***
The CNN news reporter was the first to pick up on the tension in the air.
“We have a hostage situation. Individuals have occupied the water system. We believe they are trying to poison New York,” the Fire Chief had said in response to their questions about shots in the Reservoir tunnel.
This was confirmed by the Mayor in a separate report on Fox News and then it was out there. There were terrorists in the subterranean water system and they were apparently responsible for the contamination of the water. The FBI was on site and would manage the situation until the Homeland Security people were in place.
Lived Dutronc listened to the news report
s with growing alarm. He was now back in his offices in the financial district. On his return he had immediately phoned his traders and called them in to discuss the situation and how it would affect the forward financial commitments of Live corp.
“Lucky escape boss,” the Lead Trader congratulated.
“Saw it on Fox News. ‘Hedge Fund Manger escapes kidnappers and reports hostage situation in Water Reservoir,’” a younger trader called Jim enthused.
“Well,” Dutronc explained. “The security guard on duty called the police when I arrived. I’d managed to phone my driver and he was outside and able to explain who I was. The security guard was a bit spooked, and unbelievable though it seems, he swears there was a wild horse galloping in the tunnel and he’d fired a shot to ward it off.”
“You kept a cool head,” Jim enthused.
“Well I didn’t advise them to go blundering down the tunnel. Not that that stopped them. They went on in on what they called an exploratory sortie, but when a second hostage came and warned them of what was the situation, they pulled back and called the FBI and they in turn called Homeland Security.”
“And did you need hospitalization?” the Lead Trader asked, looking closely at Dutronc.
“No, I came back here and left them to it, after all they are the experts,” Dutronc said with a grim smile. “I was a bit wet but after a change of clothes I’m as good as new.”
“Well done,” Jim said admiringly.
“We need to work up forward positions before the market opens,” the Lead Trader interjected.
“Your view?” Dutronc asked in businesslike tones.
The Lead Trader met the eye of his assistant, as if to say let me do the talking.
“Boss, our position on Property was solid given the problems in the sewage systems. Property futures were trending down nicely. However if it emerges that the problem is merely one of terrorists trying to poison New Yorkers the market should recover fairly quickly. It will be anticipated when the terrorists are apprehended, that the security of the water systems will inevitably be enhanced,” he said.
There was a silence where Dutronc considered.
“I agree,” he said.
“Unwind and reverse positions?” the Lead Trader suggested.
The Great Fury Page 22
