‘Shut up, Lisa,’ Ian shouted. ‘If you’d stayed out of this …’
‘Then someone else would be standing here instead of me and my son,’ Mum interrupted. ‘The faces would’ve been different, but what Marcus is about to do would’ve been exactly the same.’
‘Shut up! SHUT UP!’ Ian practically screamed at her.
‘Calm down, Ian. Can’t you tell she’s just trying to bait you?’ Marcus soothed.
Ian glared at Mum, but said nothing.
‘So you’re working for Pardela as well as Sarah,’ I realized.
‘Sarah doesn’t work for him. Sarah doesn’t know anything about Marcus Pardela,’ Ian snorted.
‘But the mail message …’
‘I sent it from her PC. It’s called covering your tracks.’
So we’d got that completely wrong. I glanced up at Mum, who was still hugging me. I’d never been so frightened in my life, but strangely enough, part of me felt calm and almost happy now that I was back with Mum. I just wished it was under different circumstances
‘And now I think it’s time for you two to visit my barn,’ Marcus smiled silkily.
Mum’s arms tightened around me fractionally. I could feel her body, tense and stiff with nerves.
‘I don’t want to see it, thanks,’ Mum said lightly. ‘Once you’ve seen one barn, you’ve seen them all.’
‘I’m sorry about this, Lisa – I really am. But like you and Elliot, I too have run out of choices,’ said Marcus.
And in that moment, I knew that this was all horribly real and Marcus was going to do it. He was going to kill us …
Then the doorbell rang.
‘Go and see who that is,’ Marcus demanded of Ian.
The moment he was out of the room, Marcus sat down and watched us. Mum pushed me behind her and stood stock still.
‘I’m not going to let you hurt my son,’ Mum said, softly.
‘I wish there was some other way. I really do,’ Marcus shrugged.
There was a sudden commotion outside the room, then the door burst open.
‘Julian!’ Marcus Pardela sprang out of his chair. ‘What’re you doing here?’
Julian looked around the room, then directly at Mum and me. For a split second I thought he was there to back up his dad, that he was part of the team with his dad. Until, that is, Julian turned to face him.
‘Halle and Nosh phoned me and told me that something was wrong. I know your methods, Dad – so when Steve came to pick up Elliot, I followed them,’ Julian said, loathing dripping from every word.
‘You have no business here,’ Marcus Pardela raged. ‘Get in your car and drive away – now.’
‘No, Dad.’ Julian dug his hands into his pockets, then took them out again. ‘No, I won’t. I’m going to stand up to you. It’s about time.’
‘Julian …’
‘You’re despicable,’ Julian hissed. ‘You don’t care about anyone or anything but money. All you want to do is make more and more and more. When will you make enough, Dad? You’re a multi-millionaire now. How much is enough?’
‘Don’t talk to me like that, boy. You’ll talk to me with respect or not at all.’
‘Respect has to be earned. You never did understand that,’ Julian said bitterly. ‘But understand this, anything you do to Elliot and his mum, you’ll have to do to me as well.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Marcus dismissed.
‘I mean it. I’m not leaving, and I’m not going to let you harm them.’ Julian walked over to stand by us.
I smiled up at him. How could I have called this man a numpty! He was brill!
‘Julian, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,’ Marcus said. ‘Leave now and we’ll say no more about it.’
‘I can’t do that, Dad. And besides, I didn’t come alone.’
As the door opened, Marcus Pardela’s eyes weren’t the only ones to bulge out. Halle, Nosh, Nosh’s mum and dad, Sarah Irving and Rohan Adjava stood in the doorway. I couldn’t see the driver of the car that’d brought me to this farmhouse, but Smiler was being held by Rohan and Nosh’s dad. He struggled violently, kicking out and cursing as if his life depended on it.
‘What the …?’
‘Are you ready to take on all of us, Dad? Because that’s what you’re going to have to do,’ Julian told him.
Marcus looked around. I could see the wheels at work in his head. It was like watching evil personified.
‘Let … me … go …’ Smiler kicked out even more than before.
Nosh’s dad released Smiler momentarily to get a better grip on him, but that was all Smiler needed. He drew back his elbow and smashed Rohan in the ribs. Rohan immediately doubled over, coughing for breath. Smiler reached into his inside jacket pocket, but before anyone else could say or do a thing, Halle was before him. And moments later, Smiler was flat on his back and out for the count. Halle glared down at him as she shook her hand and rubbed her knuckles.
‘Lucky for you I hate violence!’ Halle told Smiler’s prostrate body. ‘Or you’d be in real trouble.’
‘Yes! Way to go, Halle!’ Nosh looked at his sister with something suspiciously like hero worship in his eyes.
‘Look, I think there’s been a misunderstanding here. You’re all free to go.’ Marcus turned to Mum and me. ‘All of you. But it’s in no one’s best interests to make this public. I have a lot of friends who could make life … shall we say, very sticky, for each and every one of you. And you people from ANTIDOTE, you stand to lose as much as I do if the truth comes out.’
Sarah Irving stepped into the room. ‘ANTIDOTE is a good organization. I’m not going to let you bury us. We might have to change offices, even change our name, but we’ll survive. And as for you, Ian, don’t bother coming to work tomorrow.’
‘Marcus …’ Ian appealed directly to his boss.
‘Dad, you’ve lost. For the first time in your life, you’ve lost,’ Julian smiled sadly. ‘Something tells me it won’t be the last time either. We should make all this public but we’ll make a deal with you. You tell the police that the CCTV footage showing Elliot’s mum and uncle breaking into your building is a fake, and we might consider keeping all this quiet.’
‘How am I meant to explain the fact that you can clearly see their faces?’ Marcus frowned.
‘You’re an ace businessman. You’ll think of something,’ Julian dismissed. ‘After all, you wouldn’t like it to become public knowledge just exactly how you do business.’
‘Julian, you should be on my side. You’re still my son. I’m only doing this for you …’
‘Don’t give me that! You love yourself, no one else. Yo u never have done. You never will do. I can’t bear even to be in the same room as you. You make me sick.’ Julian spoke with such rage and hurt that the room almost vibrated with it. ‘You’re going to make sure that the police know Elliot’s mum and uncle were set up by you and your cronies. Understood?’
Marcus didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. I could well believe that it was the first time in his life he’d ever been dictated to. Julian escorted Mum and me out of the room. At the door he paused, then turned back to his father.
‘Oh, and in case you were thinking of changing your mind about telling the police the truth …’ Julian took a small voice-activated digital recorder out of his jacket pocket and held it up. The red ‘RECORD’light was still on. ‘I hope I make myself clear.’
And with that, Julian left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. We all left the house shrouded in a strange silence. I think everyone was thinking about what might have happened to Mum and me … I know I was. Once we were outside the farmhouse, Julian seemed to slump.
‘Are you OK?’ Mum asked him at once.
He tried to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. ‘I’ve been better,’ he said at last.
‘We’re not really going to let your dad get away with it, are we?’ Halle asked. ‘I mean, I know he’s your dad and all, but …’
‘Once Elliot’s mum and uncle are off the hook, then all deals are off,’ Julian smiled, his eyes narrowed. For the first time, he reminded me of his father.
‘You’d do that?’ I asked him. ‘You’d let the world know what your dad’s really like?’
‘Watch me!’ Julian replied icily. ‘My father’s going to learn that he can’t win – not all the time. Not if I have anything to do with it. I suspect that barn of his has a few secrets that are about ready to be shared, as well.’
I looked across at the barn and shivered. My imagination was working overtime now but something told me that the gruesome pictures in my head weren’t too far off the mark.
‘Mrs Gaines, can I give you a lift back to town?’ Julian asked.
Mum smiled and nodded.
‘I’ll come with you too, if you like,’ Halle told Julian.
‘No, Halle. I think we’ve all had quite enough excitement for one night. You can come in our car,’ her dad insisted.
‘Oh, but …’
‘Halle, can I come round to see you tomorrow?’ Julian asked.
‘I’d like that,’ Halle smiled.
I watched as Nosh and his family got into their car. Rohan and Sarah got into theirs. They’d all come to help Mum and me. It was hard to believe and yet here they were. I’d have to get the full story from Nosh as soon as I could. But right now, all I wanted to do was be with Mum.
‘If you don’t mind, Julian, can we get going, please? I don’t want to stay around here for a moment longer than necessary,’ Mum said. ‘All I want to do now is go home.’
Mum and I sat in the back of Julian’s car. Mum put her arm around my shoulder and for once I didn’t shrug away and yell at her for showing me up. When we were on our way, Mum turned to me and said, ‘You’ve certainly been busy.’
‘You always said I could do anything if I just put my mind to it,’ I reminded her.
‘So I did.’ Mum smiled. ‘So I did.’
‘And what about Uncle Robert? Will the police really let him go now?’ I asked anxiously.
‘Of course they will,’ Mum reassured me.
‘When?’
‘Just as soon as Dad tells the police that your mum and uncle were both set up – on his orders,’ Julian chipped in.
‘So with what we have on Marcus Pardela, my guess is your uncle will be out some time tomorrow afternoon,’ Mum added.
I sagged back against her and felt myself relax for the first time since I’d received the letter that same morning. My worst fears hadn’t been realized. If anyone had asked me, I would never have guessed that we’d be driving home now – and with Julian of all people at the wheel.
‘You figured out your uncle’s “Elliot” disk really fast!’ Mum smiled at me.
At my totally blank look, she continued, ‘You found the hidden data on the disk your uncle left you?’
‘I haven’t had that CD anywhere near a PC since he gave it to me,’ I frowned.
‘Then how did you figure out what was going on?’ Mum asked.
‘With Nosh and Halle’s help,’ I said. ‘It’s a long story.’
‘And you didn’t use your uncle’s disk?’
‘No. Why would I?’ I asked, confused. ‘I was rather busy trying to get you and Uncle out of trouble. I didn’t have time to play games.’
‘Games! There was more than just a game there, Elliot. That CD your uncle gave you contained all that we suspected about Pardela and ANTIDOTE. It also contained the private mail messages of Rohan, Ian and Sarah.’
I stared at her. ‘You’re joking! You mean I had their mail messages all this time …’
Julian began to laugh. I didn’t see what was so funny.
‘But why give it to me?’ I asked. ‘Did you actually want me to solve the mystery of the ANTIDOTE spy?’
‘Oh good heavens no!’ said Mum. ‘We just wanted to have a safe copy of the messages. Some insurance … in case anything happened.’
‘But …’ I frowned. ‘If … something had happened …’ I felt sick thinking about it, even though now the danger was past. ‘How would I have known what to do?’
‘Your uncle modified the game so that if you successfully got to Level 2, you would get a message telling you to take the CD to the police. If Robert and I had been … well … it may have taken a few weeks for you to get around to playing the game, but eventually you would have. I didn’t doubt that you’d find our hidden data. One way or another Pardela would’ve eventually been caught.’
Eventually … Mum had put a lot of faith in my finding the hidden data. Too much faith.
‘Hang on! Why didn’t Uncle just go through their mail messages for himself?’ I asked Mum.
‘Robert managed to copy Rohan, Ian and Sarah’s e-mail accounts while each of them was away from their PC. The only trouble was, he’d copied their accounts, not their messages, so he couldn’t read them because he didn’t have their e-mail passwords to get at them. I was going to try and crack their passwords to get at the messages – or maybe take them to my friend Mina at the University. She’s a computer expert,’ Mum explained. ‘But I never got the chance.’
‘Why didn’t Uncle copy the e-mail messages themselves instead of their accounts? Then he wouldn’t have needed their passwords,’ I frowned.
‘Can you do that? Would that work?’ Mum asked doubtfully.
‘That’s what we ended up doing,’ I told her, unable to resist a slight preen.
‘That’s not terribly secure.’ Mum wasn’t impressed.
‘Thank goodness! Or I’d never have got on the right track – even if we did think it was Sarah and not Ian,’ I replied. ‘Besides, it is secure as long as no one has access to your PC.’
‘Hhmm!’
I don’t think Mum was totally convinced.
‘So why did Uncle Robert say that the object of the game was to find out what the game was called?’ I remembered.
‘Just a little private joke of his.’ Mum shrugged. ‘He knew one of his colleagues was a traitor, so I suppose he was feeling a little cynical. In one of his more jaded moments, he said that’s what life was like and it’d do you no harm to learn that sooner rather than later.’
‘So the name of the game was “life”,’ I said. That certainly sounded like my uncle. But he didn’t have it completely right. Yes, you did get people like Marcus Pardela and Ian, but you also had heroes like my mum and Julian, and good friends like Nosh and his family. My mind turned to the CD … I still couldn’t get over it. After everything Nosh, Halle, Julian and I had been through! I could’ve solved the whole thing without leaving the house!
We travelled along in a companionable silence for a while. I caught Julian looking at Mum and me in his rear-view mirror a few times. He still looked upset.
‘Mrs Gaines, I … I had a reason for wanting to drive you home,’ Julian admitted. ‘I … I want to apologize for what you’ve been through. I know my apology isn’t much but …’
‘Julian, it’s not up to you to apologize for your father,’ Mum said gently.
‘No?’ Julian’s voice was bitter. ‘That’s not how I feel. I’ve been apologizing for him all my life. Saying sorry for his greed, sorry for his selfishness, sorry because I’m his son. Sorry, sorry, sorry.’
‘Then stop, Julian. Just stop. Or you’ll wake up one day and you won’t know where he ends and you begin,’ said Mum.
I wasn’t sure but I thought I knew what Mum meant.
‘Julian, I don’t blame you at all – believe me. From what I’ve seen and heard so far, I should thank you instead. I don’t think it’s too dramatic to say, you probably saved our lives.’
‘’Course I didn’t!’ Julian actually sounded embarrassed.
‘Yes, you did,’ Mum smiled. She turned to me. ‘And you, young man! When we get home I want to hear all about it. I can’t imagine how you even began all this.’
‘That’s easy. I knew you didn’t break into the Shelby building, so I just went from there,’ I said. �
��I wasn’t going to let them get away with that.’
Mum’s smile faded. ‘Elliot, sometimes … sometimes people do the wrong thing but for the right reason.’
‘I’m not with you,’ I said.
‘Well, for example, for a while slavery was actually legal. So if ordinary people hadn’t fought against a bad law, then it would never have been changed. And in the Second World War, the Nazis passed laws making their discrimination against Jews legal. That was a bad law, too.’
‘What has all that got to do with you and me?’ I asked.
‘Elliot, your uncle and I did try to break into the Shelby building. We weren’t going to steal anything. We just wanted to make a film of all the rare animals they’d smuggled into their laboratories. Some of those animals are on the endangered species list but at Shelby’s they were quite happy to use them in their experiments. Your uncle needed my help – but that doesn’t mean that I don’t take full responsibility for my own actions.’
I stared at Mum, unable to believe my ears. ‘But you told me that the CCTV recording was a fake …’
‘It was a fake. Your uncle and I had masks on the entire time. The footage was doctored.’
‘But … but …’
‘I decided you should know the truth,’ Mum sighed. ‘I’ve had enough of games and lies.’
I turned to face her. ‘Promise me you won’t do that any more. Promise me.’
Mum smiled at me. ‘I promise. My industrial espionage days are over. I was going to get out anyway, before all this blew up in my face.’
I regarded Mum. It was as if I was seeing her for the very first time. My mum had tried to break into the Shelby building …
‘Suppose they’d caught you – and I don’t just mean on CCTV?’ I asked.
I couldn’t help it. I was angry.
‘It was a risk we felt we had to take. If no one stands up to the Shelbys and Pardelas of this world, then they’ll soon end up ruling it,’ Mum said.
‘But you’re not going to do it any more?’ I insisted.
‘No. I think I’ll become a freelance secretary. How would that suit you?’
‘I’d like that very much.’ I replied. And it was the truth!
A. N. T. I. D. O. T. E. Page 14
