Split Second

by Sophie McKenzie

  Taylor held up his hand, the five fingers spread. “The four of you—plus me. That’s five members.” He closed his hand into a fist. “Five members. One cell.”

  I stared at his fist, feeling myself fill with pride.

  “Okay.” Taylor lowered his arm. “You have about twenty more minutes to relax and get to know each other before going upstairs to the bedrooms and lights-out. We have an early start back to London in the morning.”

  He walked out. Charlie and George started talking. I looked across the room to where Parveen was studying her face in the mirror on the wall. It was a huge mirror for what was really quite a small room. I peered closer. The glass was slightly dark and completely unframed. It didn’t fit with the home-style décor in the rest of the room at all. Suspicions crowded my head. Was it a two-way mirror? Was there someone on the other side watching us?

  I looked down at my lap, not wanting to give my thoughts away, then glanced over at Charlie. I was hoping to catch her eye, but she was laughing at something George had just said. She hadn’t noticed the mirror. None of the others had. Or maybe I was wrong. Maybe it was just a regular looking glass. I stood up. I had to find out.

  I crossed the room and slipped outside, into the hallway. Pulse racing, I put my hand on the doorknob of the room next door.

  Wait. If I just barged in and people were there, Taylor would be angry. I needed an excuse, like maybe saying I was looking for the bathroom. As I hesitated, voices sounded from inside the room. Then footsteps. I backed away from the door. There was an empty room across the hall, the door open. I scurried inside. This room was dark and as bare as most of the others, just floorboards and plaster walls, with a row of cupboards along one wall.

  I peered through the crack in the door. Two masked soldiers were emerging into the hallway. One pointed to the room where I was hiding. “See if the boy’s in there,” he ordered.

  So they’d noticed I was missing already. Which meant it must be a two-way mirror. Blood thundered in my ears so loudly the soldier would surely hear. I raced over to the nearest cupboard and slid inside, pulling the door after me.

  Footsteps sounded in the room. Then a voice.

  “The boy’s not here,” said one of the soldiers.

  His footsteps faded away and I crept out of the cupboard. My legs shook as I crept over to the door and peered out into the hallway again. The door to the room with the two-way mirror was open. Taylor was standing just outside it with one of the two masked soldiers. He looked furious.

  “You were supposed to be on duty, monitoring the recruits, not letting one of them slip outside without even noticing. And why wasn’t the room locked anyway?” he shouted.

  “Sorry, sir. I thought it was, sir,” the soldier replied.

  “Well lock it now,” Taylor snarled.

  The soldier did as he was told, then Taylor ordered him to check upstairs. As the soldier disappeared from view, Taylor stood back. Another man, this one wearing a dark suit, was approaching in the hallway. I couldn’t see his face.

  “The situation’s under control, Commander,” Taylor said. “We’ll find Nat and hold him until you’re gone.”

  Goose bumps flared along my arms. The Commander was the head of the English Freedom Army. And he was here, now, just a few feet away from me. I strained my eyes, trying to get a good look at the man’s face. Taylor was totally blocking my view though I could just make out the low rumble of the Commander’s voice. Despite the cold, a bead of sweat trickled down my neck.

  Taylor spoke into his phone again, then turned back to the Commander. “No sign of Nat upstairs yet, sir. But he can’t be outside. No windows are broken and the door’s still locked.” He paused. “There’s no need for you to wait, sir, if you’ve finished with your meeting. Shall I get them to bring the car around? We will find Nat, sir. And there’s no problem. He hasn’t seen you.”

  Taylor shifted sideways as he spoke, revealing the Commander’s face at last.

  I saw who it was. My breath caught in my throat. The Commander turned toward the room I was hiding in, as if sensing my presence. He looked straight at the spot where I was crouching behind the door, then raised his arm and pointed.

  “I think, Taylor, that you’ll find Nat in that room,” he said, the slow smile I had seen a thousand times on TV creeping across his face. “I imagine he’s watching us right now, in fact.”

  CHARLIE

  Where was Nat? I’d seen him leaving the room about ten minutes ago and assumed he was just going to the bathroom, but he still wasn’t back.

  George was chatting away at me and Parveen, but I was barely listening anymore. My eyes were on the door, waiting for Nat to return.

  But he didn’t come.

  Another minute passed and I turned to George. “Where d’you think Nat’s gone?”

  George shrugged. He was in the middle of some story about getting kicked out of his school, but I was too worried about Nat to listen. I went over to the door and pulled at the handle. It didn’t open. We were locked in.

  “Guys, look!” I rattled the doorknob, then put my ear to the door. I could hear muffled voices, but not who was speaking or what they were saying.

  “Hey!” I banged on the door. “Let us out!”

  Parveen and George rushed over. They started hammering against the door too. We yelled our heads off for about ten seconds, then we heard Taylor’s voice outside.

  “It’s just security,” he said. “For your own safety. It won’t last long.”

  “Where’s Nat, sir?” I asked.

  “He’ll be back soon,” Taylor said.

  “When can we leave the room, sir?” Parveen added.

  But Taylor had already gone.

  The three of us went back to the sofa. George tried to resume our conversation, but all I could think about was Nat. Our phones were all still up in the bedroom so I had absolutely no way of contacting him. Another fifteen minutes passed. I banged on the door several times, but no one came. At last Taylor opened up.

  “Security lockdown’s over. Go upstairs,” Taylor snapped in a voice that made it clear he didn’t want to have to deal with any more questions.

  “Where’s Nat?” I demanded. “If this lockdown or whatever is over, why isn’t he back?”

  Taylor glared at me.

  “Where’s Nat, sir?”

  “Special training,” he said.

  I stared into his green eyes. Was that true? Taylor’s expression was unreadable. He led us up the stairs to the second floor. There was still no sign of Nat anywhere. Taylor led us to a different room from the one we’d slept in last night. Four mattresses were laid on the floor, two on either side of the door. “Lights out in ten. Nobody leaves their mattress except to go to the bathroom. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” we chorused.

  As soon as Taylor had gone, I peered outside. There were three other rooms off the landing. I crept over and opened the first two doors in turn. The rooms beyond were all empty.

  “Get back here,” Parveen hissed from the doorway.

  “You gonna make me?” I hissed back.

  We glared at each other for a moment, then Parveen shrugged and turned away. I checked the next room. Also empty, though more mattresses and sleeping bag rolls were lined against one wall. I went back into the shared room, where Parveen was scowling at me from her mattress. I could hear George whistling in the bathroom. I told myself Nat was about to walk in, but he didn’t. As soon as Taylor reappeared I sprang up.

  “What’s happened to Nat, sir?” I said, feeling sure now that something was very wrong. “Is he okay?”

  Taylor studied me for a second, then he folded his arms.

  “Who am I, Charlie?”

  “You’re Taylor, you’re a soldier in the EFA.”

  Taylor pursed his lips. “First and foremost I am your cell leader,” he said. “Your captain. Which means nothing is more important to me than your life and theirs.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate
Parveen and George, who were watching us with interest. “I realize you are young and untrained and that Nat is your friend and that everything we do seems strange to you right now, but you have to learn to trust me.” He paused. “Without trust, we’ve got nothing. Now, what did I say about Nat before?”

  “You said that he was doing special training, sir,” I said.

  “Exactly.” Taylor took a step away from me. “I’m sure you’ll do some at some point too. Nat will be back when he’s back. For the time being, you need to trust that I have his best interests at heart and that he is absolutely fine.” He walked to the door. “Now go to sleep, you’ll be up again in five hours.” And he switched the light out and left.

  I got into my sleeping bag, which was on the floor next to Parveen’s. She and George, lying on his own mattress across the room, were talking in low voices: stuff about the training earlier and what we might be expected to do next. I barely listened. All my thoughts were on Nat. It was all very well Taylor insisting I trust him. Surely cell members weren’t supposed to have secrets from one another. So why couldn’t we be told what this special training of Nat’s involved?

  Apart from my boots I was still fully clothed under the covers. The sleeping bag was good quality and my body, which had been cold for hours, soon warmed up. I reached for my phone and sent Nat a text. A second later, I heard his phone vibrating as it received the message. It was across the room, under his mattress. I didn’t know whether the fact that he didn’t have his phone with him was a good or a bad sign. I checked my own phone again. At least I had no missed calls or texts from either Gail or Aunt Karen.

  I lay still, listening out for noises outside. Footsteps passed on the landing a couple of times but other than that, nothing. George and Parveen stopped talking after about five minutes. Soon after that I could hear them breathing steadily. They were asleep. It wasn’t surprising. We were all exhausted. But there was no way I could sleep myself.

  I had to know what had happened to Nat.

  I waited another twenty minutes, until I was sure George and Parveen were both deeply asleep. I wriggled out of my sleeping bag and tiptoed to the door. I was half-expecting it to be locked, but it opened with a light creak. I hesitated, listening out for voices. I could hear the low mumble of a conversation from the other bedroom across the landing. A light shone under the door. I crept over and put my ear against the rough, cold wood. I couldn’t be certain, but it sounded like two of the masked soldiers we’d been trained by earlier. Definitely not Nat.

  I headed for the stairs. He had to be on the ground floor. That’s if he was still here at all. I crept down each step, treading as lightly as I could. The floor was cold under my feet, my thin socks providing little protection from the tiles on the floor. I shivered as I edged along the hallway, past the room we’d been left in earlier, past the kitchen. All the doors were open, all the rooms empty.

  Where the hell was he? The only light came from outside—a lamp above the front door, I was guessing. As I headed to the back of the house it grew darker indoors. I felt my way along the wall. I’d lost my bearings, but I must surely have checked out every single room in the place by now. And then I came to another door. It was ajar, the room beyond shrouded in darkness. I crept inside and stood still for a second, letting my eyes adjust to the gloom. I was in some kind of office-cum-storage room. Crates and bottles lined one wall and there was a desk in front of the window. I glanced at a row of large diesel cans on the floor.

  I had no idea why the EFA would keep diesel in an office, but it wasn’t helping me find Nat. I turned around, ready to go back into the hallway. Maybe I’d missed a room somewhere?

  And then a footstep sounded by the door and a bright light shone in my eyes.

  NAT

  I darted away from the door as the Commander walked into the room and switched on the light. He was slighter and shorter than I had expected from seeing him on TV, with dark hair, thinning at the sides, and tanned, smooth skin. He stared at me without speaking. His dark eyes were like magnets, leaving me trapped in their gaze.

  “Nat Holloway, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The Commander’s voice was richer and deeper than it sounded on TV. He held out his arm. I shook his hand, still too shocked to speak.

  The Commander smiled. “I assume from the look on your face that you’ve recognized me, but I like a proper introduction.” He paused. “I’m Roman Riley.”

  I nodded, a million thoughts hurtling around my head. Riley had been Lucas’s hero. He was the most charismatic and popular politician in the country, leader of the Future Party, an MP in Parliament and totally against the Government’s austerity program.

  “You’re the Commander?” I stammered, finding my voice at last.

  Roman Riley raised an eyebrow. There was an incredible stillness about him, so that each tiny movement he made drew the eye. He watched me carefully.

  “I’m Commander-in-Chief of the English Freedom Army, yes.” He paused. “I never had the pleasure of meeting your brother but I understand that he was a hero. I’m honored that you have decided to join us too.”

  A masked soldier appeared in the doorway. “Your car’s ready, sir,” he said.

  “I think I’m going to spend a little time talking with Nat first,” Riley said. He hadn’t taken his eyes off my face. “I’d like to hear his thoughts, answer any questions he might have.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The soldier left and Riley led me through the hallway and into the kitchen. Another masked soldier was pouring a glass of water at the sink. He jumped to attention as we walked in. Riley saluted him and smiled.

  “At ease, soldier,” he said. “Door, please.”

  The soldier sped across the kitchen and tugged at the handle of what I assumed was a cupboard. However, instead of shelves loaded with plates and bowls, the door opened onto a set of narrow stone steps. The soldier reached along the wall and flicked on a light. Then he stood back, holding the door open as Riley strode across the room.

  I followed, still feeling completely bewildered.

  “Mind these steps, Nat,” Riley said. “They’re very worn and extremely slippery.”

  “Yes, sir.” The “sir” was out of my mouth before I’d known I was going to say it. I followed Riley down the stairs. Here I was, with one of the best-known faces in the country. My heart raced with fear—and excitement.

  The stairs led to a narrow hallway. Riley directed me into a basement room. The walls were covered with maps and a bank of computers stood along a line of tables. A lone masked soldier sat with his feet up at one of the tables. He jumped to his feet as Riley came in, almost knocking over his chair.

  “At ease, soldier,” Riley said. “We’d like the room, please.”

  “Of course, sir. Yes, sir.” The soldier rushed out.

  As his footsteps echoed away up the stone steps, Riley led me to two plastic chairs in the corner of the room. I looked around, trying to take everything in.

  “Is this where you monitor what’s going on with all the terrorist groups?” I asked.

  “Taylor said you were smart,” Riley said, turning a chair to face the wall. “Please sit here, Nat. I’m afraid I can’t let you look at anything in detail. That’s for your own safety. We run a lot of operations from here and I don’t want anything compromised.”

  I forced my gaze back to Riley as I took the seat. Riley drew the other plastic chair up and sat down opposite. “Questions?”

  “Is this place the EFA’s headquarters?”

  “No,” Riley said. “HQ is in London, this is just one of our operations centers. We have three in different parts of the country and we’re hoping to set up another three over the next six months.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t get it. You’re a politician, what are you doing setting up an army?”

  “I am a politician, that’s true, but I used to be a soldier, like my father. He was killed before I was born and I grew up with my mother in terrible poverty until
I was seven when she married a successful businessman who gave us both money and opportunities beyond our dreams.” He paused. “All of this is well documented, Nat. But what the media have never reported, because I have never told them, is that my stepfather was cruel. He beat me when I disobeyed him, which I did frequently, and told me repeatedly I would never amount to anything. My mother protected me as best she could, but she died of cancer when I was seventeen, just a little older than you are now, and I left his house. I never went back.”

  I nodded. “So how . . .?”

  “I worked my way through various jobs,” Riley went on. “I joined the army for a while, then left again once I’d done my contracted time. Through my twenties I grew increasingly frustrated with the way power was lodged in the hands of a few very self-serving people in this country. There was no party I wanted to join, so, on my thirtieth birthday, I decided to establish the Future Party to fight for the rights and needs of the poor and the downtrodden, for a better future. That was three years ago. When the latest banking disaster happened eighteen months ago we were already establishing a solid base. But since then, as you know, the party has gone from strength to strength and we now have ten MPs in Parliament.” He paused. “But political parties are limited in what they can achieve, the police force is riddled with corruption, and extremist violence is increasing every day. A year ago I saw something needed to be done to protect people, but that it would have to be done secretly. I already knew Taylor and a few others who shared my views. Between us, over the past twelve months, we have recruited a hundred or so young men and women, your brother among them, to serve their country by defeating the extreme groups.”

  “Why does it have to be secret?” I asked, though I was sure I already knew the answer.

  “Because politicians are supposed to work within the law and the more successful you are in politics, the more closely the media watch you. We adopted a cell structure to keep our actions secure. Most of our soldiers have no idea that I am their Commander. If I’m honest, I’m rather impressed that you have stumbled upon the truth after just one day.”