Every Second Counts (22 page)

I turned and bolted away. Hurtling through the only door, I found myself in another corridor. The door opposite said
Storeroom
. I hesitated, unsure whether to turn left or right to look
for the stairs back up to the main cabin. I was determined to find the other passengers, to start shouting that there was a bomb. Once the news was public, Riley would have no choice but to take
the boat back to shore. As I turned to the right, Aaron raced around the corner. His eyes widened as he saw me.

‘Charlie!’ he gasped. He ran up to me, stopping in front of the storeroom. ‘I just saw Nat. He’s looking for—’

‘Bomb.’ I grabbed his arm, my stomach flipping over at the thought that Nat was here, in danger along with everyone else. ‘There’s a bomb. The timer’s being set
now. You have to help me warn—’

But before I could finish my sentence, a dark blur raced past me. Spider punched Aaron, the full force of his fist ramming into Aaron’s face.

Aaron spun, then crumpled to the floor clutching his head.

‘Don’t move.’ Holding his gun in one hand, Spider gripped Aaron’s arm with the other and started dragging him into the storeroom. In seconds he had shoved Aaron inside
and turned the key. Then he grabbed my wrist and gave it a savage jerk. ‘Come
on,’
he insisted.

With the gun pressed against my neck, I had no choice but to let him force me back into the boiler room.

I slipped inside the main cabin trying not to look as self-conscious as I felt. The room was in two sections. This smaller section contained a group of kids and a clown who was
juggling with a determined look on his face. The clown didn’t appear to notice me, though several of the kids pointed at my bare feet and damp trousers and giggled. I hurried through to the
bigger section of the room. I kept my head down but, even so, I was aware of the security cameras fixed to the walls. Any second I expected to be challenged by one of Riley’s guards, but no
one appeared.

The room was crowded with people standing, drinks in hand, and noisy with chatter. No one paid me any attention as I slid silently around the walls, searching for Charlie. From the conversations
I caught snatches of as I passed, I gathered Riley had just been speaking.

‘. . . that man is
such
an inspiration.’

‘. . . he plays so well with the voters, of course . . .’

‘. . . a natural leader . . . so charismatic . . .’

I shook my head. If these people only knew what the man was
really
like, they would think very differently. I kept an eye open for security guards, but there were none in the room –
at least none wearing a uniform. I reached the far wall and looked around again. No sign of Charlie or Taylor, though there were several people whose faces I vaguely recognised from the news.
Politicians presumably. Then, with a jolt I saw Latimer. He was talking with Riley and Riley’s blonde girlfriend. Aaron wasn’t with him; he must still be trying to find me some
clothes.

I watched Latimer talking. He was attempting to appear relaxed, but I could see the tension that filled his body. I shifted sideways, behind a high table set with a vase of huge lilac and white
flowers, then peered around. Riley was speaking now, a big smile on his face. Latimer was trying to smile too.

He looked up. Our eyes met. For a split second, Latimer’s expression registered shock, then concern. Then he looked back at Riley, a mask of keen interest on his face. He nodded vigorously
at whatever point had just been made.

I hesitated. It was obvious that Charlie was no longer in the room. Latimer, as Aaron had said, had clearly been right under Riley’s nose since coming on board. And now he had seen I was
here and was making no move to expose me.

My doubts vanished. Latimer was loyal to the resistance and, if I could only get him on his own, maybe he might have some idea of where Charlie had been taken.

Latimer was making his excuses, saying he needed to go to the bathroom. He glanced at me as he left the group and I knew he wanted me to follow him. Keeping carefully out of sight I watched as
he strolled across the room. As he reached the nearest door he turned and met my eyes again. Then he walked out.

I let a couple of seconds pass. Riley was deep in conversation with the rest of his group. No one was looking in my direction. Keeping close to the wall, I squeezed past more party guests until
I reached the door Latimer had just gone through.

I slipped out into the corridor. Latimer was waiting just along the wall. He looked up, saw me and shook his head.

‘Not now,’ he mouthed.

What was he saying? That it was too risky to talk? Screw that. I
had
to find Charlie, and Latimer was in the best position to know where she might have been taken.

I turned towards him, but before I could take a step, a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me roughly back.

Leaving Aaron locked inside the storeroom opposite, Spider tugged me back into the boiler room. My heart pounded as he slammed the door shut.

‘
What
is your problem?’ he hissed.

Furious, I squared up to him. Never mind he was at least a head taller than me and armed with a gun. He was an arrogant bully.

‘Aaron could be seriously hurt.’

‘He was in my way.’ Spider snarled. ‘Anyway, he’s irrelevant. We have work to do.’

‘How dare you say he’s irrelevant?’ I demanded. ‘He’s a
person.
His life
matters.
All these lives matter.’

Spider’s black eyes pierced through me. ‘We’re here to set off a bomb.
That’s
all that matters.’

‘No. I’m not letting you do it.’ I made a grab for Spider’s backpack.

Quick as a flash, he shoved my arm away and pressed his gun against my neck. ‘Move.’ He pushed me to the end of the room where a metal locker stood against the wall.

My pulse quickened. Spider was better trained in combat than I’d expected. ‘Over there. Face the wall,’ he ordered.

I did as I was told. Behind me I could hear Spider fitting a key into a lock and turning it, then his backpack rustling.

I risked a quick look. He was positioning a phone inside the metal locker. I caught sight of numbers flashing on the screen:

06:39

06:38

06:37

‘What’s that?’ I said, my voice hoarse. ‘Is that counting down to the bomb?’

‘I told you to face the wall,’ Spider snapped.

I turned back, then sneaked a glance at my watch. It was totally in line with the countdown, even to the digital second hand. The bomb was due to go off in just over six minutes.

06:09

06:08

06:07

My heart beat hard as I stared at the wall. A moment later I heard Spider slam the locker shut.

‘
Move!
’ he ordered.

I stumbled out of the boiler room and back into the corridor. As we passed the storeroom I could hear Aaron thumping on the door. Terror rose inside me as we headed up the steps and back to the
main deck. In the distance I could hear people chatting in the main cabin. Nat was here, somewhere. I needed to warn everyone about the bomb. But how on earth did I do it?

‘Turn left.’

I followed Spider’s command. As I walked, he put his arm around my waist. His jacket hung over his arm, concealing his gun.

‘Don’t think I won’t use it,’ he hissed.

I glanced at him. His mouth was set in a determined line but he wasn’t meeting my eyes. Would he really shoot?

I couldn’t be sure any more.

Together we headed through the door at the end of the corridor and on to the deck. Spider took me over to the railings at the back of the boat. A security guard was standing there, arms folded.
He watched as we approached, but said nothing.

A long minute passed. The boat slowed and did a U-turn in the water.

‘What’s happening?’ I asked. ‘What are we waiting for?’

Spider said nothing.

As the boat finished its U-turn and began chugging back the way it had come, the security guard strode along the deck. I stared out across the water. The marina we’d left earlier was just
visible up ahead on the right, but at the speed we were going, we’d never make it back before the bomb went off.

‘Are we waiting for someone to pick us up?’ I demanded.

Silence. I glanced at my watch.

03:44

03:43

03:42

‘We
have
to go back below deck, Spider,’ I said, feeling desperate. ‘Stop the bomb. There’s still time.’

‘I can’t, Charlie,’ Spider muttered, his gun still pressed against my ribs. ‘I’m sorry, but Taylor said you would do this even though I told him you wouldn’t.
Please,
it’s not too late. I won’t say you tried to run off.’ He stared at me, helplessly.

Along the deck, the security guard was now looking out to sea. Four lifeboats hung over the deck to his right. There was no way I’d be able to stop the bomb on my own, which meant I had
just over three minutes to get everyone on to the lifeboats and away from the boat.

I felt sick. How on earth was I going to achieve that?

‘Hey!’ The security guard called out in a loud whisper. ‘Rescue motor is nearly here.’

So we
were
getting off the boat.

The guard disappeared from view, leaving just Spider and me at the back of the boat. Spider fidgeted beside me. I thought about what he had just said. I was pretty sure he was going along with
this mission in order to prove himself to his dad, and almost as certain that he didn’t really want to hurt me.

Whatever, I had to take the risk. Otherwise Spider and I would escape and all the people left on board – including Nat and Aaron and Latimer – would die.

I reached for Spider’s hand. Surprised, he looked around.

‘Would you really shoot me?’ I asked.

Spider’s cheeks flushed and I saw the answer to my question in his eyes.

‘Thank you.’ I darted forwards and pecked him on the cheek then, before he could say anything, I turned and ran across the deck, along the right-hand side of the main cabin.

A second later I came to a door and dived inside. I was in the short corridor that led to the main cabin. I could hear the chatter and the clink of glasses just up ahead. I ran towards the
sound.

‘Bomb!’ I yelled. ‘There’s a bomb on the boat!’

The security guard loomed over me, his hands pinning me down. He was clearly one of Riley’s men, though he didn’t move with the muscular fluidity of an EFA
soldier.

‘Hello, Nat,’ he snarled.

My heart skipped a beat – how come he knew my name?

‘What’s going on?’ Latimer demanded. He sounded furious.

The guard ignored him. ‘Where d’you think you’re going?’ he asked me.

I struggled, but the guard held me down.

‘Let that boy go,’ Latimer insisted. ‘He’s not doing anything wrong.’

‘He’s trespassing,’ the guard said. ‘Back away, sir.’

‘Get off me,’ I growled. My EFA training kicked in and I raised my knee between the man’s legs. As he doubled over, releasing his hold on my arms, I punched his gut. One fist,
then another. I spun him around, pushing him away from me. I raced to the end of the corridor and propelled myself outside. I was on the right-hand side of the deck. On the other side of the main
cabin I could hear shouting, though not what was being shouted. Was that Charlie’s voice? Another security guard was heading towards me.

‘Come here!’ he yelled.

I turned and fled, away from him towards the back of the boat. But Riley’s son was there, running in my direction. To avoid him, I skipped sideways, into the path of a lone male guest.
Ducking under his arm, I reached the railings on the left-hand side of the boat and glanced across the water. We were still out on the river, but I could see the marina up ahead. I turned around.
Riley’s son and the security guard I’d attacked were charging towards me.

I was cornered. Desperate. I scrambled up, on to the railings. Instinct took over. I couldn’t help Charlie if I let myself be captured. I
had
to get away. I stood, poised for
fraction of a moment on the outer edge of the boat.

I felt a large hand swipe at me as I dived. ‘Oi!’

I hit the cold water. Down, into the murky silence. I pulled myself through, straining to see through the gloomy depths. I swam in the direction of the marina, only surfacing when I could no
longer breathe. No one had dived in after me. I was safe. I swam hard, heading for the marina. My arms pulled me mechanically through the water, but all I could think was that Charlie was still on
the boat.

I had failed to save her.

I ran along the corridor, shrieking: ‘Bomb! Bomb!’ The main cabin was just up ahead. The noisy chatter coming from the room was masking my yells. I glanced down at
my watch.

02:31

02:30

02:29

Wham!
I ran slap bang into a tall man in a suit. He staggered back. Winded, I reeled. Looked up. It was Latimer. I gasped.

Latimer stared down at me, wide-eyed with surprise. ‘
Charlie?
’ He clutched at his forehead. ‘You need to hide. You’re in danger. Riley found out that
we—
’

‘Bomb,’ I panted, my voice jagged. ‘Bomb . . . There’s a bomb . . . You have to get everyone off the boat
, now
!’

I broke through the surface, blinking the water out of my eyes. I had reached the nearest moored boat. I ducked behind its hull, then trod water as I peered back towards the
Kimberley Jack
. It was chugging, very slowly, towards the far end of the marina.

Shame filled me. Logically, I knew I’d had no choice but to run. If I’d let the guard capture me, I would still be on board, a prisoner, of no use to Charlie. At least this way I
could try and help her when the boat docked.

Gritting my teeth, I swam over to the jetty.

There was a moment when I thought everything was going to be alright. Latimer was frowning as he clocked what I’d said. He was on our side. Nat had said so. He would
help.