Vortex

by Chris Ryan

  The soldiers looked at each other. 'Five minutes,' one of them said uncertainly.

  'You've got three,' he said, before turning to Johnson. 'You, go with them. Get everyone out and well away from the area. Do you understand?'

  White-faced and sweating, Johnson nodded his head.

  'Go!'

  The three of them left, leaving Joseph alone, finally, with his brother.

  Ben's muscles were burning.

  He and Annie were sprinting as fast as they could, both of them easily matched as far as speed was concerned; but the men following them had longer legs and were catching up.

  'Don't stop,' he gasped at Annie. 'If we stop, they'll either catch us or shoot us.'

  Annie didn't reply, but her look of agonized exhaustion as she continued to run alongside him said it all. She was feeling the same pain throughout her body that Ben was; she too was at the mercy of her willpower as they struggled to break through the pain barrier and reach the forest up ahead where at least they would have a chance of hiding. A chance of surviving.

  Ben allowed himself a quick glance over his shoulder as he ran. The soldiers were further behind than he thought, which gave him a surge of momentary relief. They had stopped. But then he saw why. One of the soldiers raised his weapon and pointed it in their direction.

  'Get down!' he screamed at Annie, pulling her heavily to the earth even as he spoke. They hit the ground just in time – a shot echoed around the countryside, and Ben was sure he heard the bullet whizzing over his head. Looking back, he saw the men had started to run towards them again.

  'We need to keep going,' he said breathlessly. 'Run in a zigzag – it'll make us a more difficult target.'

  'It'll slow us down too,' Annie puffed.

  'Yeah, but I've got an idea.' They started to run again, weaving in and out. As they did, Ben reached into his combat trousers and pulled out the gun he had taken from the soldier driving the truck. 'I hope this thing's loaded,' he gasped, before turning to look at the men following. He flicked off the safety catch, stretched out his hand, aimed just above the heads of the three men chasing them, and fired two deafening shots.

  The men shouted in surprise and alarm, then hit the ground. Ben and Annie upped the pace, ignoring the shrieking pain from their muscles. They had to get to the forest, and quickly.

  Behind them, the soldiers pushed themselves up to their feet, but no sooner had they done so than Ben fired another couple of shots, forcing them back down to the ground.

  'We're nearly there!' Annie shouted. 'We're nearly at the trees!'

  A shot rang out behind them.

  'Keep going!' Ben yelled, and with gritted teeth they made a final spurt for cover, crashing into the forest with an explosive breath of relief.

  'We need to hide,' Annie gasped. 'But where?'

  Ben looked around them. He knew they only had seconds to make a decision.

  'Here,' he said. He looked up – the canopy above him was thick. 'Our best bet is to climb up a tree on the edge,' he said. 'Even if they expect us to do that, there are hundreds of trees here, so it will be nearly impossible for them to find us. Follow me.'

  They ran along the edge of the forest a little way until they found a tree suitable for climbing. 'You go first,' he urged Annie, then watched as she scaled the tree with cat-like skill. Within seconds she was hidden in the upper branches. Ben tucked the gun back into his combat trousers, then launched himself at the tree trunk, following the route that his cousin had so deftly taken. There were plenty of footholds, and he was several metres up before he heard the sound of voices nearby. He looked above him – not far now until he was out of sight – and kicked his foot into the next foothold to propel himself upwards. As he did, however, the gun slipped and fell to the ground. The moment it hit the earth, the weapon went off with a loud bang that nearly caused Ben to lose his grip and fall from the tree.

  'What was that?' he heard someone shout. The voice was much closer than he had expected, and he scrambled desperately to the top of the tree, where Annie was waiting for him, her face white with concern.

  'What happened?' she whispered.

  'The gun,' Ben replied. 'I dropped it.'

  More voices from below. It was difficult to tell exactly where they came from, but they weren't far away, that much was sure.

  'If they find it—' Annie breathed.

  'I know,' Ben replied. 'If they find it, they'll realize where we are.' He looked seriously at his cousin. 'I'm sorry, Annie,' he said. 'I don't see a way out. If these people think we know about Vortex, they're going to want to silence us.'

  He looked around uselessly. In the distance, through the trees, they could see the remains of the burning truck where the ruins of the device were slowly melting away; and beyond that he thought he could make out the hut that concealed the entrance to the underground bunker where they had left Joseph.

  Poor Joseph. So keen to confront his wicked brother, he would be at Lucian's mercy yet again. Ben shuddered to think about it, before snapping back to their own predicament. He could hear people moving around at the bottom of the tree.

  'The gun,' he heard a voice say. 'The kid must have dropped it. They must have climbed up here.'

  Ben closed his eyes. 'It looks like Joseph's not the only person who has no more places to run to . . .' he whispered.

  A minute passed, and neither Joseph nor Lucian spoke. The two brothers just looked at each other, drinking in the sight of the faces that they had not seen for so long.

  'I don't want to kill you, Lucian,' Joseph said finally. 'But you will do as I say, or I will detonate the bomb.'

  'What is that you want me to do, Joseph?' Lucian asked tersely. A bead of sweat ran down his face.

  'I want you to come with me. We will leave the case of Semtex here, and together we will walk out of this place. I want you to promise me that you will never again use your knowledge to devise something that will harm so many people, and I'm going to trust you to keep that promise, though I do not know what you have done to deserve such trust. We will then destroy this place, so all the remnants of your work will be gone.'

  Joseph's ultimatum hung in the air between them.

  'You need to take control of yourself, Joseph,' Lucian said after a moment, his voice trembling slightly. 'I know you're angry, but this isn't the solution.'

  Joseph clutched his finger down firmly on the detonator. 'What you mean, of course, is that it isn't your solution,' he replied.

  'It's the solution of an unhinged mind,' Lucian said sharply. 'Fight it, Joseph. Fight it, and think.' He took a step closer. 'You are struggling with your demons. I can see it in your face. Let me help you.'

  'Take another step towards me, Lucian, and I will release my thumb without hesitation.'

  Lucian trod carefully backwards.

  'Fifty years,' Joseph continued. 'Fifty years you stole from me the day you decided that I would be a suitable subject for your experiments.'

  'They weren't experiments, Joseph. We knew what the drugs would do. We were saving you from yourself. Do you really believe we were working alone? The intelligence services knew what we were doing, and if you had blown the whistle they would have killed you. My way was much better. It was for your own good.'

  'My own good?' Joseph smiled, and appeared to be thinking for a moment. 'You're right. My mind is clouding over. It has been for the last few days. Occasionally I snap out of it, but soon I will be out of control. It's my medication, you see. I don't have it, and without my medication, the world is a dark and frightening place.'

  Lucian's eyes narrowed, and Joseph could see hope in his face.

  'But the clouds have not yet fully descended,' he continued. 'Some things are clear, and one of them is this: that if there is one person in the whole world who is not fit to judge what is for anyone's own good, it is you, my brother.' He spat the final word with distaste. 'But I am giving you a final chance – a chance to redeem yourself.'

  Lucian's lip curled into a
sneer. 'Redeem myself? If you believe that I want redemption, you are stupid as well as insane. You have no idea of what I have done. You have no idea of the things my mind has achieved.'

  'Ah,' Joseph purred, 'Vortex, you mean? A grand name for such an evil device. I'm sorry to tell you, however, that by now Vortex will be destroyed, or at the very least in safe hands.'

  Lucian blinked. 'Destroyed?' he repeated. 'Impossible. It's on its way to the delivery point as we speak.'

  Joseph shook his head. 'Not if Ben and Annie have anything to do with it,' he said softly.

  'Ben and Annie?' Lucian laughed. 'Those kids? Don't be ridiculous.'

  Joseph shrugged. 'Clearly I have more confidence in them than you do. All this, however, is rather academic. I am going to destroy this place, Lucian. Whether or not you come with me is up to you.'

  A tiny smile of triumph flickered over Lucian's face. 'But you won't leave me alone with the bomb, Joseph,' he taunted. 'You know I will just remove the detonator. If you try and kill me, you'll kill yourself in the process.'

  Joseph raised an eyebrow. 'All that intellect, my brother, and you truly suppose that that hadn't crossed my mind?'

  Lucian's eyes narrowed. 'You won't do it,' he whispered. 'You won't sacrifice your life to get back at me.'

  'To get back at you, Lucian? Haven't you been listening to a word I've said? What I'm doing is not to get back at you. It's to protect the thousands of innocent lives that you would destroy if you were left unchecked.'

  He closed his eyes briefly, then looked back at Lucian. His brother was scared now. Terrified. It gave him no pleasure, but there it was.

  'Besides,' Joseph said, his voice cracked now, and trembling, 'do you call this hollow existence you have left me with a life?'

  The question remained unanswered as a wave of indecision crashed over Lucian's face.

  'Please, Lucian,' Joseph begged. 'Please. You know what the right thing to do is. This can end now. I don't want revenge, and I forgive you for what you have done. Make the right decision, Lucian, for once in your life.'

  His brother was looking down at the floor now, his shoulders slumped. Finally, he moved his head up. His lips were thin; his face was white.

  'OK, Joseph,' he whispered, his voice suddenly frail, betraying his age. 'You win. I'll come with you.' And with that, the elderly scientist stepped towards his brother. As he walked past the suitcase he paused, as though contemplating doing something; but a quick glance at Joseph, his finger firmly on the detonating button, clearly persuaded him otherwise.

  Joseph looked towards the door. 'You go first,' he said. 'I'll follow.'

  Lucian nodded, and stepped towards the door.

  What made Lucian do it, Joseph would never find out. Perhaps he thought he could overcome his brother; perhaps the thought of his laboratory being destroyed, with all the research and secrets that it contained, was too much for him. Whatever the reason, as he approached his brother, Lucian hurled himself towards Joseph. They fell heavily to the ground, and Joseph felt his brother's hand clasp firmly over his own, pressing down on his thumb so that he could not release the button.

  'Get up!' Lucian hissed as they struggled on the floor. 'Get up and walk to the suitcase. We're going to disengage that detonator.'

  Lucian had the upper hand, and with all his might he dragged Joseph up to his feet. 'You're as crazy as you ever were,' he whispered as he did so. The old men staggered slightly as they stood up. Joseph found that the room was spinning, and it was all he could do to keep his attention focused on his button thumb, which Lucian was keeping firmly pressed down. But as they edged awkwardly towards the flight case, their legs became tangled and they tripped. As they fell, Joseph's head cracked hard on the corner of the table.

  Instantly he went limp and lost consciousness.

  Lucian fell too, pulled to the floor by the dead weight of his unconscious brother. And as he did so, he lost all sense of co-ordination. His knees buckled, and his hand slipped from over the thumb of his brother.

  The detonating button made a small click as it was released, and that click was the last sound Lucian Sinclair ever heard.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  'We know you're there!' the soldier's voice called up from the ground.

  Silence.

  'You've got two options. Climb down quietly, or have us shoot you down, like birds.'

  Ben and Annie glanced at each other, and each of them shook their head. If the soldiers wanted them, they'd have to come and get them.

  'I'm going to count to five,' the soldier shouted. 'If you're not down by then, we open fire. One.'

  Ben gripped onto the bark of the tree. It hurt his hand he was holding on so hard.

  'Two.'

  Annie looked frightened. Ben didn't blame her: he was frightened too.

  'Three.'

  There was a barely audible click from below as the soldier readied his weapon. Ben bit his lip, desperately trying to think of a plan.

  But they never heard him say 'Four', because suddenly there was an immense explosion. It was in the distance, clearly, but it was loud enough to make startled birds rise out of the trees in great flocks, squawking with alarm.

  'What was that?' one of the soldiers shouted. Even as he spoke, however, Ben and Annie looked sharply at each other and whispered one word.

  'Joseph.'

  From their vantage point at the top of the tree, they looked back towards the bunker. A huge black pall of smoke was hovering above it, and the whole place was a scene of devastation. Ben squinted his eyes – he thought he could see figures running away from the area. Somehow he knew, without quite understanding how, that neither Lucian nor Joseph would be one of those figures.

  Below them, the soldiers had started to talk heatedly.

  'The bunker – it's blown!'

  'We have to get away from here. This place is going to be crawling with people before we know it.'

  'No,' another voice said harshly. 'Those kids know about Vortex. If they tell anyone . . .'

  'Then what? Vortex has been destroyed. So has the bunker. There's no evidence it ever existed. Let's just get out of here before any of our colleagues ask us what we're doing. We can forget about our money, if that's what's worrying you.'

  'I agree,' said a third voice.

  'Listen, I'm the ranking officer here. I'm giving you an order.'

  'You can give us as many orders as you like. What are you going to do, court martial us? We're getting out of here.'

  As he spoke, a mobile phone rang. The ranking officer answered, then listened silently to whoever was at the other end of the phone. 'Get back to barracks,' he instructed. 'Now.' He clicked the phone shut. 'Lucian,' he said to the others. 'He was in the bunker when it blew. He's dead.'

  There was a brief pause, then one of the other soldiers spoke. 'We really have got to get out of here then. There are going to be questions, and we don't want to have to answer them.'

  A moment later, through the treetops, Ben saw the three soldiers leaving. They ran back to the waiting trucks, and drove off out of sight. Half of him wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Instead he found his eyes fixed on the cloud of smoke drifting away from the bunker.

  'There was a room of explosives down there,' he said numbly. 'Joseph must have found it and . . .' His voice trailed away. In the past couple of days he had gone from fearing Joseph to respecting him; he couldn't bear to think of the old man meeting his final moments in that hated underground bunker.

  'Maybe he wasn't down there,' Annie said quietly. 'Maybe he escaped.'

  'Yeah,' Ben replied. 'Maybe.' Deep down he knew the truth.

  They fell silent and continued to watch the smoke as it drifted across the wild Spadeadam landscape.

  How long they sat there, uncomfortable among the upper branches of the tree, Ben didn't know. He was too busy thinking about Joseph. Had it really only been a couple of days ago that they first saw him, alone and haunting on th
e bridge of the railway station? He had seemed so mysterious then, mysterious and scary. And that hadn't really changed, Ben realized as he thought about it. All that had changed was that they had started to understand him a bit better. Maybe that was why the old man had seemed to trust them. For fifty years, nobody had taken him seriously; for fifty years his ramblings had been dismissed as the paranoia of a madman.

  If only it hadn't ended like this.

  'He shouldn't have done that,' Annie interrupted his thoughts.

  'What?'

  'Joseph. He killed his brother. There must have been another way. There's always another way.' Her voice sounded tearful as she spoke, and Ben couldn't tell if she was angry with the old man, or sad for him.

  'Yes,' Ben muttered. 'Yes, I suppose you're right.' But in his heart he wasn't so sure. It was unavoidable, what Joseph had done; and it was true that innocent people could have been hurt in the explosion. But what if Lucian had rebuilt Vortex? What then?

  Sometimes, he realized, things were not black and white. They were shades of grey.

  And what was it Lucian had said was the motto of Spadeadam? Si vis pacem, para bellum. If you wish for peace, prepare for war. He continued to stare at the scene of destruction. Joseph, he finally understood, had been fighting a war in his mind for most of his life. What they had just witnessed was the final battle; only now was he at peace.

  Ben took a deep breath, and turned his attention back to Annie.

  'What that soldier just said was right,' he told her. 'It won't be long before this place is crawling with RAF. If they catch us, we're going to have some pretty awkward explaining to do.'

  'Like what?' Annie asked.

  'Like what we were doing wrecking one of their tanks. Like what we were doing blowing up one of their trucks.' He glanced back towards the bunker. 'Like what we had to do with what's going on over there. Listen, Annie, I don't think we're out of trouble yet. Any evidence to do with Vortex has been destroyed; the people involved will deny all knowledge of it. If we try and tell the authorities, they'll never believe us – they'll think that we're just making it all up, that we're trying to wriggle out of what we've been up to here. We're compromised, Annie. We're in a corner. Even your dad wouldn't be able to get us out of this.'