by Jon Robinson
‘You think he might give us some information?’ said Julian.
‘Exactly. If we can make him talk –’
‘We’ll make him talk,’ Jes cut in, then added, ‘I’ll make him talk.’
Elsa couldn’t help but admire her confidence, but kept her eyes on the man. This was far too good an opportunity to waste.
Ryan started creeping out slowly. At that moment, the man in the giraffe mask turned and saw the group. ‘What you kids looking at?’ he said. ‘Gonna mug me or something?’
Ryan and Julian ran towards him. Elsa shut her eyes and whispered her locus under her breath as the others chased after him along the street. The man looked over his shoulder at his pursuers when a window swung open off the latch, hitting him directly in the face.
Elsa opened her eyes and hurried over to the others. She could see why Harlan had got so addicted to the Ability.
‘Good job, Elsa,’ said Julian with a hint of his familiar sarcasm returning. ‘Though he won’t be saying much. He’s out cold.’
‘Hey, I’m sorry!’ Elsa protested. ‘I can’t control exactly what happens …’
Ryan leant down and pulled the mask from the man’s head and shoved it inside his hoodie.
Elsa leant down and plucked the screwed-up piece of paper from the man’s hand. It showed a map of the Houses of Parliament with a number encircled:
18:00
She passed it to Jes.
‘So that’s where they’ll be this evening,’ Jes said. ‘We should go.’ She paused and her eyes filled with worry. ‘This is probably our last chance …’
Elsa was glad Jes had said the words, so she didn’t have to. Judging by the look on Ryan and Julian’s faces, they were thinking the same thing.
‘Before all this happened, I spoke to my mum on the phone,’ Ryan said. ‘I told her everything.’
Jes rubbed his arm encouragingly.
‘The night they took me I asked my mate Carl if he thought we’d ever get somewhere in life. If we manage to pull this off, I reckon I have. I reckon we all have.’ He looked down at the ground, as though suddenly embarrassed by his confession. ‘That’s about the soppiest thing you’ll ever hear me say.’
‘Here’s to getting somewhere,’ said Jes, reaching down and holding Ryan’s hand.
55
A large crowd had gathered on the bridge and the grass beneath Big Ben when Alyn eventually emerged. He peered up at the tower and the silent clock; it had not chimed since the anarchy. There was no sign of Emmanuel anywhere. He left the bridge and went on to the grass, weaving through the crowd.
‘It’s about time,’ Alyn heard someone beside him say. ‘I’ve been waiting for this for years. I mean, I always knew there would be a revolution. I just never thought it’d be this good.’
A few of the others murmured in agreement and Alyn felt something curdle in the pit of his stomach. Of all the things that Emmanuel had used the Ability to manipulate, the public reactions were one thing that he hadn’t.
And then it became clear: people actually wanted this to happen. They were sick of exploitation, of the authority of the greedy, the cruel and the corrupt. Emmanuel had merely been the architect of something that had been festering beneath the surface for decades. Perhaps even centuries. Emmanuel was right.
Alyn felt smothered by the realization and found it hard to breathe. He started to push away through the crowd, but a cry stopped him in his tracks.
‘Here he is!’
Emmanuel climbed out of the back of a van, surrounded by a dozen of his followers. The crowd cheered as he made his way across the grass and stood before them.
‘My friends!’ he exclaimed. ‘Today we burn, we destroy, and we rebuild!’
There was another cheer from the crowd. Three men were pushed towards the front. Two were dressed in suits, the other in a robe. Each had a bag over his head.
‘Politician, banker, priest,’ Emmanuel announced. ‘The three tentacles of oppression. Of the old way.’ He gestured to the man beside him, who led the captives to a low wall overlooking the River Thames.
Two of Emmanuel’s followers grabbed the nearest man and hoisted him over the wall and into the river. Moments later, the second man was thrown in, and finally the third. Alyn drew in his breath in shock. A few of the people surrounding him looked away, but then there was a cheer, a trickle of laughter and an encouraging shout, then silence.
‘The disease must be cut out of the city,’ Emmanuel announced. ‘And we won’t stop until we have torn out every trace.’
Emmanuel’s eyes searched the crowd. Alyn lowered his head and slipped through the mass of bodies. He watched as three men began carrying bags of explosives from a wooden crate inside a parked van. Another stood a short distance away, holding a flaming torch aloft.
Alyn felt someone tapping his shoulder and turned to find Luthan standing behind him. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his overcoat and a scarf was wrapped round his mouth.
‘Luthan?’ Alyn said, struggling to hide his surprise. He felt himself quickly becoming wary.
Luthan lowered the scarf with his forefinger and thumb. ‘I came to say I’m sorry for what I tried to do – what I did. I’ve come to try to make amends. To make things right.’
‘Get lost.’ Alyn turned away, but Luthan’s hand steered him back.
‘You want them all taken out?’ Luthan said without lifting his eyes from the group.
‘I don’t know what I want,’ Alyn said, looking around at the enthusiastic audience. ‘I don’t know any more. I’m starting to think all of this was meant to happen. Needed to happen.’
‘Maybe you’re right,’ Luthan whispered. ‘But this man is not the one to do it. He’s already threatened to destroy all of us. And your friends. It’s only a matter of time before he succeeds. We have to stop him, Alyn.’
Alyn closed his eyes. All he could see was Jes, smiling back at him.
‘I can help you take out his followers,’ Luthan whispered. ‘But then you need to deal with him. Alone.’
56
Jes, Julian, Elsa and Ryan emerged from Westminster Bridge just in time to see the final man be thrown over the side into the river. Elsa gasped and buried her face against Jes’s coat. She heard Ryan swear under his breath.
‘He’s getting more followers by the day,’ Jes said, watching the crowd. ‘Almost as if the people want this …’
‘Course they don’t. They’re only doing it cos they’re scared,’ Ryan answered, shoving his hands in his pockets. At least he hoped that was the reason. He closed his eyes, pinching his nose with his forefinger and thumb as pain stabbed between his eyes.
Jes put her hand on his arm. ‘You feeling OK?’
He nodded. ‘It’s just my head. I’ll be fine in a minute.’
‘Look over there,’ Elsa whispered. ‘What are those people getting out of that van?’
‘Explosives,’ Julian answered. He checked his watch and added sarcastically, ‘I was wondering when they might show up.’
Ryan reached into his hoodie and removed the giraffe mask he had taken from Emmanuel’s gang member earlier.
‘I reckon I can get inside it,’ he said, his eyes fixed on the van.
‘And?’
‘And, while his lot are distracted by me, you guys can attack.’ He looked down at the rusted pipe in Jes’s hands, then back at her and grinned. ‘You’ve beaten him once already anyway. I reckon you can do it again. In fact, I know you can.’
Jes smiled at him. ‘Only problem is, his men are all armed. We won’t last a minute against them.’
‘No,’ Julian suddenly realized, and nodded towards the van. ‘As long as we’re in there, we’re safe. They’d never be so stupid to open fire on us while that cargo’s in the back.’
Ryan nodded. He slipped on the mask and turned to Julian. ‘Come on. Let’s go.’
He and Julian hurried through the crowd together to where the van was parked on the grass, in the shadow of Big Ben.
&nbs
p; Ryan tapped at the window.
The driver looked down. ‘What?’
‘There’s smoke coming out of the back,’ Ryan said. ‘You might wanna have a look, mate.’
The driver shoved the door open and climbed out, just as Julian swung a pipe at his head. Ryan climbed inside, followed by Julian, who went round to the passenger seat.
‘Now what?’ Julian said.
‘I’ll head straight for Emmanuel. That should get their attention.’
He turned the key in the ignition and the van began rattling slowly across the grass.
That joyriding came in handy, he thought, feeling a little smug behind his mask.
Alyn watched in silence as Luthan pushed his way to the front of the crowd.
‘Emmanuel!’ Luthan shouted. ‘That is your name, isn’t it? Very exotic.’
Emmanuel stopped talking and watched as Luthan walked towards him.
‘You wanted me, didn’t you?’ He pulled the scarf from his face. ‘Here I am.’
‘Luthan,’ Emmanuel said, ‘I was expecting the Guild to make an appearance sooner.’ He gestured to some men carrying a small box of explosives. ‘Bring him to me.’
The pair lowered their crate on to the grass and grabbed Luthan, dragging him towards Emmanuel.
Alyn looked at the crate and shut his eyes. An explosion. That would do it. Especially if Emmanuel was in the way.
Luthan was thrown at Emmanuel’s feet. Emmanuel looked at his audience. ‘An enemy,’ he announced. ‘One who would have the old ways kept!’
The crowd jeered and someone threw a bottle, which struck Luthan on the back.
‘Tell me, Luthan, where are the rest of your people?’ Emmanuel asked, lowering himself down to him.
‘I’ll tell you,’ Luthan hissed. ‘But you have something I want. A key.’
‘Ah.’ Emmanuel reached under his collar and removed Felix’s key on a cord from round his neck. ‘This key?’
Luthan nodded. ‘Give it to me. And I’ll tell you everything.’
‘It seems this is rather highly sought after,’ Emmanuel said, and closed his fist round the key. ‘I’ve already been deceived once, and I don’t intend to be again. Take him away.’
Luthan’s hands were bound by the gang. He turned to Alyn, meeting his eyes and nodding as he was grabbed under the arms and hauled towards the river. Alyn looked back at the explosives piled on the grass. Come on, he urged. Why isn’t it working?
He shut his eyes again, visualizing a blast scattering Emmanuel’s followers. When he opened his eyes a van appeared from round the corner and sped across the grass.
‘What’s Luthan doing?’ Elsa whispered, as she and Jes stood in the crowd. ‘They’ll kill him!’
She stopped, noticing Emmanuel had removed the key from round his neck and was dangling it in front of Luthan, taunting him.
‘There it is,’ said Jes, not taking her eyes from the key. ‘You think you can get him to drop it?’
Elsa shut her eyes and visualized Emmanuel’s key landing on the grass at her feet.
She screwed up her face as the pain seared through her skull. The Ability was supposed to work through the imagination, but there was nothing imaginary at all about this pain. Elsa crouched, blood trickling out of her nose, her mind on fire.
‘Elsa!’
Jes knelt beside her and put an arm round her shoulders.
‘I can’t do it, Jes,’ Elsa whispered.
Jes looked up to see the van driven by Ryan speeding towards Emmanuel. He leapt out of the way just in time.
The van continued on, moving towards the river at full speed.
‘Ryan! Julian!’ Jes yelled. ‘Get out of there! Jump!’
For a few moments her heart held its beat – until she saw the pair tumbling on to the grass. Then they got up and ran with the crowd of fleeing spectators.
‘Stop them!’ Emmanuel cried, pointing to Ryan and Julian.
Jes reached into the pocket of her coat and removed a rock. She launched it at Emmanuel, only for it to miss and crash against a tree. She silently cursed.
Alyn watched helplessly as the van crashed through the wall and into the river. A spray of water flew into the air. He looked at the small crate of explosives on the grass.
He shut his eyes again. It has to work this time. He imagined the box exploding, throwing Emmanuel and his men over in the blast. A tingling sensation emerged in the back of his mind. He put a hand to his head. His vision became slanted and stretched, as though reality was warping before him. He staggered away before quickly falling to the ground.
Alyn opened his eyes to find one of Emmanuel’s men staring at him.
‘You!’ the man hissed, recognizing Alyn and raising his gun.
Alyn shut his eyes.
At that moment a rock bounced off a tree and hit the man on the side of the head. He fell forward, inadvertently squeezing the rifle trigger. A single burst left the weapon.
The bullet struck the crate of explosives; there was a tremendous blast of sound and heat. Emmanuel’s men were thrown through the air and scattered among the smoke and ash.
Ryan swore loudly, leaping out of his skin at the explosion. He pulled Elsa down.
Although they were a short distance away, the force of the blast had thrown Emmanuel to the ground. Ryan watched as a figure sped across the grass.
Alyn.
Alyn reached down and grabbed the key. It had been flung from Emmanuel’s hand in the explosion and was lying on a patch of snow.
He stared at it in disbelief for a few moments. Then he turned and saw Jes and Julian some way behind him. ‘I’ve got it!’ he yelled. ‘It’s all over!’ He started towards them, but was knocked to the ground by Emmanuel, who was somehow already on his feet.
Emmanuel removed a dagger from his coat pocket. He knelt over Alyn. ‘I gave you enough chances, Alyn,’ he said. ‘You still don’t understand. This is what everybody wants! It has to happen …’
‘It’s – it’s what you want,’ Alyn spat, watching the blade helplessly.
Emmanuel lifted the dagger, but before he could plunge it into Alyn’s chest he was thrown to the side.
Ryan had begun aiming wild punches at him, barely even connecting. Emmanuel tried to shield himself from the blows.
Alyn crawled to his feet. ‘Jes!’ he yelled, and tossed her the key.
Jes caught it with both hands.
‘Come on!’ Elsa shouted. ‘Get Ryan!’
Alyn grabbed Ryan, trying to pull him from Emmanuel. ‘We have to go, Ryan,’ he urged. ‘Forget about him – we’ve got what we want. Come on! We have to go!’
Just as he managed to get Ryan into a standing position, there was a rapid cracking burst of gunfire as one of Emmanuel’s followers staggered drowsily towards his leader.
‘There they are,’ Emmanuel snarled, pointing at the pair. ‘Kill them both.’
In a silent stupor the man turned his gun at Alyn, who was frozen to the spot.
Ryan threw himself at Alyn, knocking him out of the way.
The weapon rattled for barely a second, but that was all it took. Ryan crumpled softly to the roadside.
Before the man could fire again, Elsa launched a stone at his face. She called out Ryan’s name and ran over, followed by Jes.
Jes cried, shaking her head from side to side as she knelt beside him. A pool of blood had already blossomed beneath him. She tried lifting up Ryan’s head.
He touched her face gently. ‘You’ve got to help my mum,’ he whispered, reaching inside his coat with a trembling hand. He removed Felix’s diamond-covered watch. ‘Give her this, will you? Say it’s a present. From me.’ He took a deep breath. ‘And tell her I love her.’
‘Ryan,’ Jes said, but her voice was breaking. ‘Please, stay with us.’
‘I’m sorry, Jes,’ he whispered. ‘I – I tried using the Ability … on you … once … to make you like me … That’s why you kissed me … I’m sorry …’
Jes pulled him to he
r. ‘No it wasn’t,’ she said, putting her mouth close to his ear. ‘I chose to do that, Ryan.’
Ryan’s eyes met hers and for a moment he seemed completely relieved. Then his eyes remained open, staring serenely at the sky above.
Jes and Elsa both began crying. Julian, who had been watching from afar, was silent and defeated.
Alyn got to his feet. ‘Thanks, Ryan,’ he said, quietly. ‘Thanks.’
He looked round and realized that Emmanuel and his followers were nowhere to be seen. He and his friends were all alone.
57
‘He pushed me out of the way,’ Alyn eventually said, as he and the others stood together on Bridge Street, just minutes on foot from where Ryan’s body lay. They had stayed with him for as long as possible, before Alyn removed his coat and laid it over him and left in silence.
‘He saved me.’
Jes nodded. Her eyes had been focused on the same spot on the road. The events of the past few minutes seemed unreal, as though she had watched the entire thing through someone else’s eyes.
‘I don’t know what else to say,’ Alyn said. His voice was almost a whisper.
Jes dried her eyes on her sleeve. ‘Don’t say anything.’
He put his arm round her but she pushed him away.
Beside her, Elsa sat on the road, covering her face with her hands. Julian traced patterns on the pavement with his finger.
Alyn unscrewed the shaft from Felix’s key and removed the bit of paper. ‘Fifty-one point fifty-one.’ Then he unscrewed the shaft from Stephen’s key. ‘Seven, seven, one, two.’
Julian unwound the shaft on Blythe’s key. ‘Minus nought point twelve.’
Only then did Elsa look up. She took Antonia’s key and removed the shaft. ‘Five, six, nine, eight.’
‘Coordinates,’ said Julian.
Alyn picked up an overturned dustbin and launched it at the glass door of a tourist shop bedecked with Union Jack flags, T-shirts and posters. He reached through the glass, opened the door and went in. Several minutes later, Alyn returned with a bound map of London. He threw it towards Julian.
Then Alyn picked up the bin and threw it again and again and again at the shop window until the glass trickled out on to the ground in a powder of glittery dust. He began to sob into his hands.
