‘That’s more like it,’ Mum said. ‘Ben, run these things up to your room while I check our dinner. Tom, you haven’t touched your sherry.’
‘A bit of a nag, isn’t she?’ he joked as I went out.
‘You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,’ she said, and they laughed and tapped glasses.
Upstairs, I peeled the plastic surround from the cactus and placed the plant on the shelf between a Hulk action figure and the knick-knack tin containing my four-leaf clover chain. Inside the tin, the clovers were still healthy and green, but I couldn’t imagine why. By rights they should have died off weeks ago. It had to be some kind of magic.
Hope, faith, love and luck, I thought, remembering Becky’s explanation of what the four clover leaves signified. I wondered where she was right now, perhaps bracing herself in the Mustang’s back seat while Lu sped her and Mr October across town.
Coming down the stairs, I saw them together in the living room doorway, holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. I hung back in the hall and cleared my throat, and they coughed and pulled apart.
‘It’s ready,’ Mum said, hurrying out to the kitchen. ‘Are you hungry?’
I shrugged.
‘I could eat a horse,’ Tom called.
‘That’s a shame. We only have chicken.’
Dinner was served. I hadn’t been looking forward to it, I wasn’t good around strangers, but the talk was light-hearted, no difficult silences, and now and then Tom would say something to make Mum laugh and she’d go off into an embarrassing schoolgirl giggle while I studied my plate.
From their conversation and the looks that passed between them I gathered they’d already spoken about Dad, though Mum had told me they hadn’t. They didn’t mention Dad now, but he seemed to be in the air, not far from their thoughts. At one point I asked Tom about his family, if he had one, and a strained look crossed his face before Mum quickly changed the subject. That was when I knew, or thought I knew. He understood what it meant to lose someone too.
‘Hope it was all right,’ Mum said at the end of the meal. ‘Roasts are my speciality, but I can do other things too.’
‘It’s a treat,’ Tom said.
‘Our usual idea of a treat is a takeaway from Hai Ha’s,’ I said, and Mum rolled her eyes.
‘Well, it’s been lovely,’ Tom said, raising his glass. ‘To our fabulous hostess. And a pleasure to meet you, Ben. I hope we’ll become good friends. Next time we’ll do this at my place. In fact, how are you both fixed at the weekend?’
‘I’m busy,’ I said.
Another of Mum’s reprimands came my way in a look. ‘He’s always off doing something. But there’s no reason why he can’t change his plans just this once.’
Just this once. But I’d already changed my plans for tonight and I couldn’t keep missing shifts. I looked at the window, hearing a raven caw-cawing past.
‘We can work something out,’ Tom said, ‘even if it’s only for a few hours before you get back to whatever you’d rather do. Shall I have my driver pick you up, say, Saturday noon?’
‘Your driver?’ I looked at him, gobsmacked.
Mum smiled and arranged her cutlery on her plate. She knew much more than she’d been letting on. The gifts he’d brought were nothing to Tom Sutherland, a spit in the ocean. He was loaded. Really nothing like Dad at all.
‘A driver,’ said Mum, ‘and a big house in Belsize Park. You should come along, Ben. No one’s forcing you but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Personally, I can’t wait to see it.’
‘No pressure,’ Tom said. ‘It’s only a thought. But you’d make your mum happy by joining us, and her happiness is what counts, right?’
‘Yeah, I suppose,’ I said.
‘Oh no,’ Mum said suddenly. ‘But I have a hospital appointment on Saturday morning. I’d completely forgotten my clinic starts again so soon.’
‘No worries,’ Tom said. ‘We’ll drive you. We’ll pick Ben up later on our way back.’
‘Are you sure it’s no bother?’ Mum said.
‘None whatsoever,’ Tom said.
I had a strange sense of a door closing firmly, taking the light with it and shutting me out.
‘But I always go with you, Mum,’ I said. ‘The hospital’s my job.’
‘You’ve always done a fine job too,’ she said, ‘but you can help in other ways, Ben. Give yourself a break for once, no arguments now.’
And that was the end of that.
Later, after Tom had left and I’d moved the furniture back into place, Mum gave me a goodnight hug, holding me in such a way that I found myself looking straight at the photograph, so I closed my eyes.
‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘It’s going to be fine, I’m going to be fine, and you don’t have to do anything to prove you love me. Let Tom help out if he wants to.’
‘You’re serious about him, aren’t you?’ I said.
‘Oh, it’s a bit soon to say serious. But I enjoy his company, and he makes me feel good.’
‘Well, it shows.’
‘Thank you, darlin’. That’s quite a compliment, coming from you.’
Perhaps it was too soon, but it seemed to me that Tom Sutherland was already replacing Dad in her life – and now in this one small way he was replacing me too. The clinic was always an ordeal, the hospital full of departed and soon-departed souls and demons and chemical smells that made me gag, but getting Mum through it was one way I’d been able to help, and now I couldn’t even do that.
13
THE GREAT GIG IN THE SKY
inter seized the week. Temperatures dipped and freezing fog settled over the streets in the mornings. On the way to school the air burned my eyes and my head swam as if I had a cold coming on.
The atmosphere at Mercy Road was equally frosty. Teachers rebuked us for things we hadn’t done and classmates either made smart remarks behind our backs or ignored us completely. Even Mel Kimble, who I used to think was OK, turned up her nose when we passed.
‘What’s wrong, Mel?’ I asked, Tuesday afternoon, as Miss Radcliff’s French class wound up for the break. ‘Why’s everyone being like this?’
‘It ain’t us, it’s you,’ she said, not looking at me. ‘You’re like a private club, you two, and nobody likes that here, innit? It’s you two against the rest of us.’
At least she was talking, but not for long. Mel was quickly shushed and dragged away by two of her friends before I could ask anything else.
As they went, someone tapped my arm from behind, and I turned to find two of the gang of five, Kelly and Ryan, facing me. Their blank faces put me in mind of the unnamed dead in taxis and buses, and the usually hostile Kelly remained calm when she spoke.
‘Mel’s right. It’s not us, it’s you.’
‘Becky was everyone’s friend before you came,’ Ryan said.
‘She could still be your friend.’
‘Nah.’
‘Not likely,’ Kelly said. ‘Not as long as you’re here. Everything’s changed because of you. You brought something bad here, a bad influence, know what I mean?’
Looking past them at the small dark-haired boy innocently packing his bag at the back of the room, I had a good idea where the influence really came from.
‘Can I just ask one thing?’ I said, still eyeing Decker.
They shook their heads and strode away.
‘What about you?’ I said, catching Fay De Gray as she left her desk.
As usual Fay looked stunned to be spoken to, unable to meet my look. Watching the floor, she edged sheepishly around me towards the door.
‘Can’t talk to you either,’ she said. ‘We’re not supposed to.’
‘Says who? What do you know, Fay? What’s scaring you?’
That was as far as I got with her. Shaking her head, Fay ran from the room.
At her desk, possibly overhearing all this but looking on without comment, Miss Radcliff massaged her temples and squinted as if feeling the onset of a headache.
Because
of the biting weather we took the bus to Islington after school. Progress was slow on the icy roads – we could have walked it in half the time – and I sat upstairs with Becky in a kind of shock, hardly speaking.
‘Can’t take much more of this,’ was all she said until we left the bus on Upper Street, where she dragged me aside to speak her piece. She’d obviously been giving this some thought, and she built up a head of steam before she finished.
‘It’s no use asking anyone there for an answer,’ she said. ‘We both know why it’s happening. It’s because of what we believe in and what we are. Well, I can’t see everything you can, Ben, and I can’t do what some field agents do, but I still feel things, I know when someone’s hurting and when they need help, and I know it’s the right thing to do. And sometimes knowing you’re right is all you’ve got, even if it turns everyone against you. I’ve found my place, we both have, and we can’t let them mess it up for us.’
At first I thought “them” meant the other pupils, but she meant more than that, I realised now. The kids didn’t know what we did outside school, and they didn’t know what someone – something – else was doing to them.
‘I’d say that’s a good summary of our situation,’ I said.
‘I should think so. It took me all afternoon to come up with it.’ As we hurried between the empty shops and frosted café tables on Camden Passage she added, ‘We can’t say we weren’t warned, that’s all.’
A wave of dizziness nearly floored me as we set off between the brick walls. The entrance felt tighter, more claustrophobic than ever, and the bricks chafed my cheek as I squeezed through. Exiting the passageway onto Eventide Street, I doubled up, hands on knees, certain I was about to black out.
‘What’s wrong?’ Becky said. ‘Something happen back there?’
‘Just a cold starting. Maybe flu. I’ll be fine.’
‘Take your time.’
The alley came slowly into focus. The feeling passed, but my legs were still rubbery. I straightened up, looking past Becky at the vehicle parked by the steps below Pandemonium House.
‘I see Lu’s rickshaw is back from service,’ I said.
‘Yeah, good thing too. She tied the Mustang around a lamp post last night. Fortunately no one was with her and she jumped out in time, so no one got hurt.’
‘What happened?’
‘She hit black ice and went into a skid. That’s what she claims, anyway, but you know how she drives. The Mustang’s at the repair depot, but I’ll bet they don’t let her out in it again, at least not until she’s passed her test.’
We headed indoors, into the whistling wind. On the way upstairs Becky said, ‘Another thing you missed last night. Mr October stumbled and fell three times. He wasn’t good on his legs all night, actually. I can’t see that old man’s body lasting much longer.’
‘He came back to work too soon. He’ll find another personality to replace it – he has lots more. But I’ll miss that old codger when he retires. He was the first one I met.’
The sounds of a disturbance met us at the top of the stairs. A muffled voice called, ‘Look out!’ and a huge thud vibrated along the floor, followed by a tinkle of breaking glass.
Sukie peered out from receipts, a stack of typed cards in her hand. She was watching the dispatch room door, where the sounds were coming from.
‘Oh hi,’ she said, unusually surprised to see us.
‘Hi Sukie. . .’ I said. Another shout, another dull thud. ‘Any idea what’s going on?’
‘Yeah, of course.’
But of course Sukie knew everything.
‘As a matter of fact, I don’t know everything,’ she said. ‘I’m not hearing much at all today. Something’s not right. Feels like the signals are blocked. Could be I’m being screened.’
We looked at her nonplussed.
‘Screened?’ Becky said.
‘Tell you later. It’s kinda complicated.’ She was still focused on the dispatch room. The disruption inside had died down, replaced by a mechanical whir and drone.
‘What’s that?’ I said.
Sukie touched a finger to her lips. ‘Mr October, I think.’
‘What’s he doing?’
‘Quiet. Just wait.’
She glanced irritably back inside the office as the telegraph kicked off again, spitting and growling.
‘Brilliant, and I only just finished this lot,’ she said. ‘Ben, would you be a honey and take these for filing while I process the next batch?’
A door slammed open, making all three of us jump and nearly spinning the cards from my grasp as Sukie handed them over. The mechanical drone stepped up in volume and, seated at the controls of a red mobility scooter, Mr October trundled from the dispatch room into the hallway, bumping the walls left and right. His elderly face was even paler and wrinklier than his off-white suit and the top of his bald head glowed, reflecting candlelight.
‘What are you gawking at? Don’t you have work to do?’ he grumbled. ‘Don’t look at me, this isn’t my idea. The elders thought I should give it a go after last night, and there’s talk of having a stairlift installed – health and safety nonsense and all that. Frankly, I feel insulted. I’m perfectly capable, and besides, it’s Lu’s job to get me around. It’s a lot of fuss and bother over nothing.’
He promptly went into a coughing fit, pressing a handkerchief to his mouth. As the coughing eased he composed himself again, looking at me as if surprised to see me.
‘Ah, Ben. I see you have a new batch for filing. What’s our programme?’
I read him the numbers off the cards while Becky followed Sukie inside receipts. A couple of 8847s, a 10176—’
‘Another of those,’ he said. ‘How odd. They’re very uncommon. What else?’
‘A 12123 in Camden, a 1732 in Stockwell. . .’
‘Come, walk with me a while. I’ll keep you company on the long trek to snarky Miss Webster’s booth.’
‘We’re worried about you,’ I said, waiting while he reversed and turned the scooter into position. ‘I mean, worried about this shape of yours, this personality’s health.’
‘You worry too much, but that’s your way, that’s why you’re here.’
‘I heard about you falling. Have you fallen before?’
‘More times than I can count. And you know something? Every time I fell I got back up again.’
‘One of these days you won’t.’
‘Still argumentative,’ he said. ‘Well, when that day comes I’ll admit defeat and hang up my boots. Or hat. Whichever.’
‘Couldn’t you do the same job in a different body?’
‘All of my personalities are separate and distinct,’ Mr October said. ‘In here – ’ He tapped his chest. ‘– there are warriors and magicians, scholars and teachers, ravens and snakes, but there’s only one empathiser, and he – which is to say, me in this form – is the one best-suited to the task.’
‘So when he wears out, what then?’
‘Oh, he’ll have a successor. Who knows, it might be you, or even Becky, who’s skilled in this area too. At that time, this old man will retire and I – which is to say, another part of me – will take on another role. But don’t trouble yourself. I may be old but—’
‘You’re very resilient.’
‘True, and I’ll wager I have a good few decades in me yet.’
In the enormous records room a strange tension gripped the air. The filing clerks were always busy but today their actions seemed nervously driven and, miles high in the mist, the guardians flew in agitated patterns. I hadn’t seen anything like this since the Halloween siege. Were they expecting another attack?
I crossed the floor at a shuffle to let Mr October keep up.
‘Confound this thing,’ he said, stopping the scooter and leaping up, into the frame of the black-hatted pirate, a stronger and more capable body for the long walk ahead. ‘Time’s of the essence, and see what they give me for transport! Between you and me, Ben, I sometimes wonder if the Over
seers are losing touch.’
‘I don’t get what’s happening here,’ I said, looking around the white space. ‘Is something going on I should know about?’
‘They’re on alert,’ he said. ‘It seems the Bad Saturday list was leaked after all. Our Infernal Enquiries team have confirmed that the names on that list reached enemy hands about the time we received them. Hence, the books are unbalanced and the numbers are presently out of alignment.’
‘Then someone, a traitor, gave up the list?’
‘The investigation’s ongoing. For now, we’re assuming there’s an enemy agent in our midst or a disaffected Ministry operative about to defect. He or she may not have joined the other side yet but could be about to do so.’
We walked on, watching the rush and tumble around us until Miss Webster’s tiny booth, jammed between two skyscraper cabinets, finally came into view.
‘One leak, one crack in the order of things, and look at the fallout,’ Mr October said. ‘Seems to me there’s a pattern to the enemy’s tactics this time, something shrewder and more insidious.’
He would have said more but we’d arrived at Miss Webster’s booth, where Mr October doffed his hat and flashed his silver tooth. ‘Afternoon, Miss Webster.’
She gave her customary scowl. ‘Afternoon, is it? It’s all right for those who get out once in a while to see for themselves what time of day it is.’
‘The cards, Ben,’ Mr October prompted, and I set them before Miss Webster and stepped back before she could snap at me too.
‘May I say you’re looking lovelier than ever today,’ Mr October told her.
The compliment passed her by. ‘And may I say you fool no one,’ Miss Webster said. ‘Just because you have the gift of the gab doesn’t mean you have anything to say that’s worth hearing.’
‘Of course not, Miss Webster.’
She sniffed and plucked a small tangle of cobwebs from her chin. ‘And another thing. . .’
The Great and Dangerous Page 10
