She had never been so pleased to see her friends.
Chapter 22
Scarlett and Dylan rushed forward to hug Neelam, Lucy and Alex. It was good to be reunited as a group again and even better to learn their friends were OK after what had happened to Isabella, Jay and Aaron.
“You took your time,” Neelam said with a smile.
“Yeah, well, this place isn’t exactly easy to find.” Scarlett said. ”What are you doing here?”
She took another look around the dank, dark room, which was lit by only a few light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.
“Sergeant Marks brought us down here when we ran into trouble in the Arndale Workhouse. We went there looking for Jay, Aaron and Isabella, but the place was swarming with police, so we had to make a run for it. Then we ran into a Detectobot and the sergeant rescued us.”
Neelam turned to smile at the man in uniform, who was in his early twenties. He stepped forward to shake Scarlett and Dylan by the hand.
“Nice to meet you,” he said. “Let me explain what’s been happening here. I’ve been serving in the army for five years now, but I’ve been growing mistrustful of Prime Minister Goulden. I recently discovered that he’s building a large stash of weapons down here, including those dangerous ones you were handling a minute ago.”
Scarlett looked back to the metal tins. Was that what Goulden planned to use to kill everyone in the area?
“Are they biological weapons?”
The sergeant shook his head.
“No, they would have to be stored much more safely than that.” He tapped one of the metal tins gently. “These are acid pellets, which Goulden wants the army to fire at our opponents. They’re cruel, but they’re nothing compared to the devilpox he has stored in a sealed refrigerator room at the back of this floor. That will be the biological weapon you refer to. Devilpox is a man-made disease that Goulden’s scientists have developed and it’s like smallpox, but it’s even more deadly and kills people almost instantly.”
Scarlett looked around for the refrigerator room the sergeant mentioned, but she could barely see past the tall shelves they were stood between. She walked to the end of the row and peered across the shelter, where lines of shelves stretched as far as her eyes could see. Each one was rammed with guns and bombs; this place was full to the brim with weapons.
“It must have taken him years to build up this collection,” she said as she turned back to the group.
Sergeant Marks nodded.
“When he closed down Ethinance two years ago, Goulden started making and storing weapons down here. Last year, he moved the manufacturing of weapons to the Arndale Workhouse and began transporting them up here via a new tunnel that he had built. It links a disused train station under the Arndale to the Ethinance tunnels. His long-term plan is to expand his arms operations up to the ground above, where all the old buildings have been flattened, but for now most of the action happens in secret in these subterranean tunnels and rooms.”
Scarlett was amazed to hear there were so many secret passageways, stations and shelters hidden away below Manchester. It sounded like there was a whole world down here. She was much more shocked to hear about the huge scale of Goulden’s weapons operation though. He had enough arms to take on several countries and there were more being made every day. How many wars was he planning to start? But without a doubt, the most chilling revelation of all was the existence of his biological weapons.
“What happens if he unleashes the devilpox?” she asked the sergeant. “How does it even work?”
“He has it stored in frozen liquid form and that can be transferred into small bombs, which are then launched at the target area to infect people. Symptoms appear instantly and sufferers die within less than an hour.”
“How many can it kill?”
Sergeant Marks moved his eyes to one side as he plucked the facts from his brain.
“One of these bombs will cover at least a square mile and he has enough for 20 bombs stored here. If he used them all, that would be enough to infect everyone within a 20 mile radius. How many people depends upon how populated the target area is, but in a city, it could be millions.”
Scarlett and Dylan both gasped at the same time.
“However, devilpox is highly contagious, so the disease may spread far further than the intended target zone and cause a national outbreak. The military have tried to warn Goulden of the consequences, but he won’t listen. The power has gone to his head and he needs to be stopped. That’s why I’m secretly working against him.”
Dylan shook his head, then turned to Alex, Neelam and Lucy. “Did you three know about this?”
“We found out about an hour ago, which is why we’ve teamed up with Sergeant Marks. We want to stop Goulden using all this against the people of Mendia.”
Dylan sighed, gazed up to the heavens, then back to the group. He paused as he searched for the best way to tell them the truth, but there was no easy way, so he blurted it out. “The devilpox isn’t for the people of Mendia, Goulden’s going to use it on Manchester.”
Sergeant Marks was stunned. “Surely not! That would wipe out the whole of Greater Manchester: about three million people. Even he’s not crazy enough to kill his own citizens.”
“Isn’t he? He was responsible for the Victoria Incident a few years ago. You know, the event that killed thousands in the London train station.”
“No! But he claimed to save all those people.”
“Exactly. Great PR for him, wasn’t it? And he made us look like the bad guys.”
“You? But those kids were superpowered freaks. You’re not…”
“We’re not superpowered?” Scarlett said. She telekinetically scooted a box behind him and made him sit down. “You’d better take a seat, sergeant. I think we have as many secrets to reveal as you do.”
He stared at Scarlett in disbelief, then at the floor, the box and his surroundings as though he was looking for a logical explanation as to what had happened.
She paced back and forth in front of him. “Firstly, there’s no need to fear us. We’re not criminals, we want to stop Goulden and we’ve pretty much dedicated our lives to doing so. We risk everything on a daily basis to keep people safe, just like you and your men. Everything you’ve heard about us from Goulden is lies. Got that?”
He nodded.
“Secondly, Goulden loves to manipulate the public. He likes to be seen to solve problems, such as ‘stopping the superpowered freaks’. The truth is, he’s bitter because we refuse to fight for him and he’s even gone as far as to mutate innocent people so they have powers of their own. In other words, he’s created his own Super Soldiers as he calls them.”
Sergeant Marks’ eyes flung open in disbelief.
“And thirdly, he is planning a biological attack on Manchester and he pretty much admitted it to us earlier.” She looked at her three friends. “We got it wrong when we thought Mendia would launch a revenge attack because of Goulden’s war. Goulden himself will drop the devilpox bombs across the city. That’s why he’s rushing out this Cities Of The Future Shield thing to protect the rich over on the other side of the city. They’ll survive, but he will happily kill off the not-worthy poor people and let Mendia take the blame. Then he looks justified in taking further action against Mendia and starting more wars. Thus he gets to solve another fake problem, only this time it’s the so-called ‘murderers in Mendia’ rather than us ‘superpowered kids’. He sounds crazy, but in a weird, sick way, he’s incredibly smart. He’s really thought this one through.”
The sergeant stood up, straightened his back and gave them all an authoritative stare to make it clear it was his turn to speak.
“This goes far deeper than I could have imagined. Even for me, this is a lot to take in. I thought I just had a power-crazed Prime Minister on my hands, not one willing to murder his own people. His plan could kill the whole country. He’s mad! And now I’m teaming up with a bunch of superpowered teenagers to stop him.” He st
ared around in disbelief as he tried to take it all in. “This is like a weird dream.”
“Know that feeling,” Scarlett said. “But if you’re going to have anyone on your side, are superheroes so bad?”
Sergeant Marks laughed. “I guess not.”
“Can we destroy the devilpox?” Dylan asked.
“Easier said than done. We could bury it, but we’d have to be careful where because it could leak into the soil and make its way into the underground water supply. Let me show you where it’s kept.”
He beckoned to the group to follow him as he made his way through the shelter. They walked past dozens of rows of shelves, each one piled to the ceiling with sinister-looking weapons. It reminded Scarlett of going to DIY warehouses with her parents, only it smelled of damp instead of sawdust and this place was empty, not bustling with families pushing trolleys full of boxes.
They eventually reached a room at the edge of the shelter, which showed signs of having been recently installed. The entrance was made from modern white metal and it looked like a giant fridge, which she guessed it was in a way. The room itself was at least 20 foot wide and there was a door made from the same metal towards the left hand side. It was incredibly well sealed.
Sergeant Marks strode towards the door and punched a code into a silver combination lock. The door made a futuristic hissing sound, like a spaceship door opening in a sci-fi movie, as it jolted back an inch then smoothly slid to one side. “Wait here,” he said. As he walked inside, Scarlett could feel the chill of the cold air rushing out of the door and almost burning her face.
“Brrrr,” Alex said. “It reminds me of my Saturday job at Tesco when I had to fetch stuff from the freezer. Only colder. Much colder.”
The sergeant came running out in a panic. He stared at the group one by one with a worried look on his face. “It’s gone. All of the devilpox is gone.”
Scarlett noticed Neelam go still for a second and guessed that she was scanning the area telepathically to see if anyone else was here. Her hunch proved to be right.
“Goulden!” Neelam said. “He’s seconds away and he’s not alone. Get in there now.”
Neelam pushed her friends into the fridge and shut the door behind them. They looked at each other in desperation, hoping that if they stayed still and didn’t make a sound, then Goulden wouldn’t find them.
But Scarlett’s body temperature plummeted so quickly that she began to panic. It was well below freezing in here; if Goulden didn’t kill them, these temperatures would. They were well and truly stuck between a rock and a cold place this time.
Chapter 23
Scarlett zipped up her leather bomber jacket to keep herself warm, but her body still struggled to cope in the low temperatures of the freezer. Her teeth were chattering and her fingers were already starting to go numb. She had never been so cold. She took a quick look at her watch to see it was minus 15 degrees Celsius in the room.
She’d always loved her digital watch, but it was even better since Lucy had used her powers to modify it. Now it could be used as a thermometer and compass as well as being able to withstand extreme temperatures and water. It was even bullet proof.
“I’m freezing,” Neelam said telepathically in all their heads. “I thought I’d better communicate the silent way so Goulden doesn’t hear us.”
“What are you doing?” Sergeant Marks said out loud, completely ruining the point of Neelam’s plan.
“Sssh. I’m using telepathy to talk in our heads, so we don’t get caught. No time to panic now, go along with it.”
The sergeant eyed them all up warily, but did as he was told.
“We won’t survive in here five minutes,” Alex said. “I can’t teleport out either. What are we going to do?”
“I could shut the electrics down,” Lucy said. “Is there a control panel in here?”
Sergeant Marks shook his head. “It’s not that easy to switch these freezers off because they’re controlled by a central office at the Ministry Of Defence.”
“In London?”
“Yes.”
“That’s stupid.”
“It’s a sensible safety measure that stops terrorists running in here and defrosting all the devilpox. The Ministry Of Defence also has the power to remotely blow this place up if there’s a threat to security, so don’t do anything that would make them suspicious.”
Lucy looked horrified and turned to Scarlett. “Can’t you do something?”
“Me? Hell no. What good is telekinesis in here? I can’t control the temperature…” Then Scarlett had an idea. “But Dylan can.”
The whole group turned to their leader.
“What do you reckon,” she said. “Can you save us?”
Her boyfriend scratched his head and stared around the room. “I dunno. It’s not like there’s any actual ice I can melt and even if I could figure out a way to make the room warmer, won’t that alert the Ministry Of Defence and make them think someone’s trying to defrost the devilpox?” He looked towards the sergeant for an answer.
“Probably.”
“We’re screwed.” Lucy stamped her foot in frustration, then rubbed her hands together to try to warm up.
“Possibly not,” Dylan said. “Don’t write us off yet.”
He walked over to Scarlett and grabbed her hands. Alex and Lucy misread his intentions and tutted, but Dylan ignored them. He wasn’t being romantic, he was trying out a new way of using his powers. As he touched Scarlett’s skin, she could sense her body temperature warming up. She breathed a frosty sigh of relief as she stopped shivering and started to feel normal again. However, her temperature continued to rise and she soon began to feel too hot. So hot that she was burning up with a fever.
“That’s enough,” she yelped as she jumped away from Dylan. She realised that she’d shouted out loud and clasped her hand to her mouth.
“Did it work?” Dylan asked via Neelam’s mind link.
Scarlett nodded.
“Great. I was hoping I could use my power to heat the water in your body and regulate your temperature, but it was just a hunch that my powers would work that way. I’ve never even thought of doing it before, so I was worried it’d go wrong. I warmed us both up safely though, so I reckon that means it’s OK to do everyone else.”
Dylan heated up Lucy and Neelam, then helped Alex and Sergeant Marks. By that point, Scarlett was cold again, so he had to use his powers on her once more. He was going to be busy if they stayed in here for some time. As he moved back onto Lucy and Neelam, the sound of people chattering outside grew closer.
“And this is where the devilpox is stored?” they heard Goulden say.
“Yes, sir, but we’ve removed it all now. It’s currently being transported to the airfield ready for your plan.”
“Very good.”
Scarlett heard the familiar sound of Goulden pacing back and forth, then he continued speaking.
“Remember, Charlie, we must ensure that the attack does not take place before The Shield is up.”
“No, sir.”
“It should be active by 5.30pm, but tell the men to wait for the final nod before proceeding. I’ll drive over there myself if I can.”
“Of course sir. I know how vital it is that we get this right. I’ve spoken to Claire at the Spinningfields control centre and she assures me that The Shield will be active on time. We are also taking every effort to make sure the desirable citizens are within the zone before it goes up. None of them have any reason to venture out of the area, but it helps to be cautious.”
“Yes, good work, Charlie. We should be going now. This place gives me the creeps. Even now it’s full of weapons, it still feels so disgustingly good. It’s like the area is still tainted with the values of the Ethinance movement, even though I shut them down long ago. That was one of the best moves I ever made, wasn’t it, Charlie?”
“Yes, sir.”
Goulden started pacing again. Scarlett and the others huddled together near the door, partly
to make it easier for Dylan to keep them warm and partly so they could hear every word Goulden said.
“I can’t tell you how much they got under my skin with their talk of values, ethics, morals and fairness. The world isn’t fair! Why should it be? The worst bit of it was, people actually believed that fluffy nonsense and followed their ideals. Do you remember when so many people put values before money, Charlie?”
“Yes, sir. Dreadful times.”
“They were, weren’t they? I should have crushed those daydreamers sooner, but it felt cruel when I first took over. Like kicking a puppy.”
“I don’t think the public would have accepted it right away, sir. You were right to wait.”
“Yes, I was, wasn’t I? Their opposition to my workhouse scheme was the final straw though. They wouldn’t stop bleating on about the minimum wage, equality and human rights. I’m pleased I got rid of them and all the other do-gooder groups, creatives and hippies… Once you take away the inspirers, the people who put the ideas in people’s heads, that’s half the battle won. It’s much easier to crush people when they’re no longer encouraged to hope and dream.”
“Oh yes, sir. You never hear people so much as mentioning fairness or hope anymore. There’s no more of that.”
“I know, I love it. We’ve made Manchester, London and the whole country a much better place. Now the strong, the good and the hard-working can prosper. We no longer have to support the weak, instead we use them to our advantage like in the good old days.
“This is the way it should be, Charlie. It will only get better once my Cities Of The Future are in place and we start taking over the world. I can’t wait for tonight; killing all those people will get rid of so many undesirables as well as filling the public with fear. They’ll agree with everything I say from now on, including the wars and introduction of the new cities. Oh, I love it when I have these genius ideas.”
He paused as another set of footsteps ran into the room.
“Prime Minister! Sir!” a new voice said. “Your car is here.”
Out Of Time (Book 2): Heroes and Villains Page 17
