“Oh but I can,” Inspector Goldstein replied. He was still smiling but now his pistol came up to point at them. Peter realized that the other two plain clothes men were also standing well apart and were pointing their weapons at the group.
Inspector Goldstein indicated one of the men. “Nobody try to stop us, or I am afraid we will have to shoot,” he said.
There was a pause. Inspector Goldstein glanced at his watch, then up towards the main street. Peter looked in that direction and saw several faces peering around the corners of buildings as locals allowed their curiosity to overcome their caution.
Another noise came to them:- aero engines. Peter looked up as an ancient Douglas DC3 lumbered low overhead, its engines labouring to gain height as it headed north. “The Mississippi Militia,” he said. “They are getting away.” To his own surprise he felt glad.
Inspector Goldstein smiled thinly. “Good. That will save a lot of complications. Ah, here is our car.”
A plain white sedan raced down the hill and swung round with a screech of tyres to pull up at the gate. Inspector Goldstein gestured to his two men and they began backing off. “Don’t try anything foolish. My men are very good shots. And don’t try to follow us. Goodbye and thank you for your help. I salute you for your teamwork, courage and initiative.”
With that he backed off down the path. One of his men climbed into the back of the car and levelled his weapon at them. The other went to the other side of the car and aimed his weapon over the top. Inspector Goldstein climbed into the car. The other Israeli agent then scrambled in and the car accelerated away. As it went Inspector Goldstein gave them a wave just as it vanished from view.
Gwen stamped her foot in frustration. “He’s getting away with the Scroll!” she cried angrily. “What can we do?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sir Miles said. “At least the Scroll isn’t going to fall into the wrong hands. The Israelis will look after it.”
Graham was almost dancing with annoyance. “If we are quick we can get the police to catch them,” he cried. “They still have to get out of the country.”
Peter shook his head, amazed at how calm he felt. “They probably have their own plane waiting somewhere,” he suggested.
Graham snorted angrily. “So what? We have to try! We can’t just give up. Sir Miles deserves to have that Scroll,” he cried, anger and frustration evident in his voice.
Peter suddenly smiled. “He can have a copy then,” he said.
Graham turned and gave him a puzzled look. “What? What did you say?” he demanded.
“He can have a copy,” Peter replied. “When I went into the police station earlier I used their photocopier to make twenty copies. We can all have one.”
There was silence for a few seconds as they absorbed this. Peter went on to explain. “That bloody Scroll has caused so much death and misery with all the secrecy about what it might say that I thought that if there were dozens of copies then no-one would bother to try to get the original. So I made some photocopies. Now I might make another hundred and email them all over the world. Come on, I’ll show you.”
As they realized what he was saying his friend’s faces all broke into grins. Graham whooped with delight and smacked his thigh. Joy jumped up and down and Gwen crossed herself and gave silent thanks in prayer. Even Sir Miles was amused. He stood up and came over to shake Peter’s hand.
“Well done Peter. It was a brilliant idea. Of course many people will claim the photocopies are just fakes but they would say that about the original anyway, if it doesn’t agree with their ideas. May I have a copy?”
“Certainly sir. And we’d better get you to a doctor fast,” Peter added, concerned at the trickles of blood still flowing down the knight’s face and right arm.
He led the way up into the police station. From under the counter he extracted the photocopies of the Scroll and handed them around. They were not very good but the printing was perfectly clear. “Make a dozen more Gwen. Steve, get on that phone and call the ambulance, then call the coppers to find out where they are.”
At that another voice called out loudly: “They are bloody well here!”
The friends spun round, to be confronted by a large sergeant holding an automatic pistol. He had come through from the back with another policeman. “I’m Sergeant Pearson. Now somebody tell me what the hell has been going on here!”
At that Peter had to laugh. He turned and hugged Joy. Their eyes locked and then their lips met.
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Enjoy more C.R. Cummings stories
The Cadet Under~Officer
by C.R. Cummings
The Army Cadet series
DoctorZed Publishing
www.doctorzed.com
ISBN: 978-0-9875975-5-7
2nd edition 2013
Available in print and ebook.
Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth has been handed a briefcase full of incriminating documents by her dying uncle, documents wanted by a gang of crooks. In desperation she flees into the bush, where she encounters seventeen-year-old Cadet Under-Officer Graham Kirk and his platoon of army cadets. Graham decides to hide Elizabeth until he can contact the authorities.
But how? And who can he trust? As the days go by the crooks become ever more desperate.
The Boy and the Battleship
by C.R. Cummings
The Navy Cadet series
DoctorZed Publishing
www.doctorzed.com
ISBN: 978-0-9875975-5-7
1st edition 2014
Available in print and ebook
Graham Kirk is nearly thirteen and about to discover the truth about friendship, navy cadetship… and girls. There is Margaret, who is two years his junior and who adores him; Cindy, who is two years older and offers real temptation; and Thelma, the object of his adoration and love.
As he struggles to mature and to achieve love, Graham finds himself torn by emotional conflicts and guilt. Graham struggles with serious moral issues such as sex, honesty and trust.
And there are sinister forces at work. Graham is unwittingly drawn into a desperate and dangerous situation—a US destroyer is due in port and an international terrorist organisation want to give the world a message: death.
The Word of God Page 46
