Ironheart (28 page)

The shaft had brought them to a narrow service corridor, filled with pipes and multicoloured cables. The corridor was too low to stand up in but it felt spacious compared to the conduit.

‘Which way to the control room, d’you reckon?’ he said.

She shrugged. ‘My guess would be the one with the most cables. Let’s try that way.’

‘Are you sure about that?’ he said, squinting into the darkness.

‘No. I’m just making an educated guess. For all I know it leads to the Commanding Officer’s personal toilet!’

Sid looked at her for a moment, then unexpectedly his frown evaporated and he broke into a huge grin. ‘Damn!’ he laughed. ‘Wouldn’t that be a bummer?’

‘You should do that more often,’ she said, laughing too. ‘You wouldn’t be half as scary if you did.’

They followed the tunnel until they found a glimmer of light from a ventilation grille near the floor. It was rotten with rust and India kicked it out easily. She squeezed through the vent and
lowered herself gently to the floor. Sid followed her and collapsed into an undignified pile, cursing and spitting.

They had landed in a small storeroom. The door was locked but a single kick from Sid sent it bursting from its hinges. Once outside, they made their way along an anonymous-looking corridor and
through a final set of doors to find themselves standing again in the great turbine hall. They stared at the vast space for a moment, then India whooped for joy.

‘We did it, Sid! We made it!’ she cried.

They hugged each other ecstatically, then realized what they were doing and jumped apart with embarrassed smiles.

The hall was silent, except for the humming of the turbine and the giant steel doors that stood open to the bitter night. The missile racks were empty and the warheads were gone, save for one
that sat like a sarcophagus in the middle of the floor. A cable attached to its nose ran across the floor. They followed it up the steps to the control room where it disappeared into one of the
metal cabinets.

‘Can’t we jus’ pull it out?’ said Sid, scratching his head.

‘Verity said it didn’t work like that. We need to find the fail-safe to switch it off There should be two buttons or switches, some distance apart.’

‘Like them?’

He pointed to two small panels at opposite ends of the control desk, painted with red and yellow warning stripes. There was an empty silver keyhole in the centre of each one.

‘Yes!’ said India. She looked around the room. ‘The keys have to be in here somewhere.’

They scoured the control room with increasing urgency. India was just about ready to sit down and cry when Sid upended a waste basket in frustration and two silver keys on short lengths of chain
clattered across the floor. He tossed one to India and they stood ready at each end of the control desk.

‘They need to be turned at the exact same time,’ said India. ‘Ready? Go!’

The keys would not turn.

Sid let out a cry of anguish and drew his gun. ‘A pox on this, I’m going out there to put a bullet through that damned bomb.’

‘Calm down, Sid,’ she said. ‘We’ve just got the wrong keys. Here, take this one.’

The keys crossed in the air and they tried them again. This time they both turned with a click. They looked at each other expectantly. A buzzer sounded, making them both jump, and a green light
glowed on the control desk. Sid broke into a grin. ‘Hot damn, we did it!’ He punched the air. ‘We shut that damn thing off!’

India was busy unfastening Calculus’s bracelet. ‘I need to speak to Calc,’ she said. ‘I have to tell him it’s safe.’ She pressed the little button on the side
of the bracelet but all she got was static hiss. ‘I guess all this electrical stuff is interfering with it. Let’s try outside.’

They clambered back down the steps to the turbine hall and skirted around the dead missile as though it might bite them. The body of the guard shot by Stone was still lying on the floor.

Sid pulled the blood-soaked jacket from the body and offered it to India. ‘You want this?’ he said. ‘It could be pretty cold out there.’

She shuddered and shook her head. Sid shrugged and put it on himself. Then they walked out through the hangar doors to stand on the hillside overlooking the lake. The night air stung like
sharpened steel and a billion stars glittered and whirled above their heads. But when she looked up, the night sky struck terror into India’s heart. High above them was the brightest star she
had ever seen, larger than the moon and shining with an intense white light, shot through with streaks of red and blue.

‘It’s Nibiru,’ she said breathlessly. ‘The asteroid is here already.’ They watched the gleaming apparition hanging silently above them like a sword, neither of them
speaking. With shaking fingers she tried the bracelet again but it returned only more hissing. ‘I need to get further away from the turbine hall,’ she said.

But Sid was not listening to her. He was staring out over the lake and the look of cold hatred had returned to his hard, bony features.

A short way down the hill were the unmistakable shapes of two rigs, black and gleaming in the starlight, rolling carefully down the slope. Now India could hear the sound of their engines
carrying faintly on the breeze.

‘It’s the
Ice Queen
. . . and the
Prince of Darkness:
he said between clenched teeth. ‘My pa’s rig.’ His whole body quivered with anger as he
watched the rigs roll away.

India touched his arm gently. ‘Forget about him, Sid,’ she said. ‘He can’t hurt you any more. Why don’t you just let him go?’

He shook her arm away. ‘I’m not letting that dog get away,’ he said spitting on the ground. ‘He murdered my ma, the sweetest woman that ever lived, and he told me it was
pirates that done it.’ He pulled out his pistol. ‘Well, now I’m going to get him if it’s the last thing I ever do.’

‘We’ve got more important things to do, Sid. The asteroid is nearly here and I need to get Calc to tell the machine.’

‘No!’ He turned on her. ‘If that ancient machine goes off now it’ll blast everything on this mountain, including him!’ He pointed to the receding rigs. ‘Then
I won’t never get a chance to get even. You’re not taking that away from me, India Bentley. Do you hear? Never!’

As quick as a snake his hand darted out and he snatched the bracelet from her grasp. Then he was off and running down the slope towards the rig, leaving her gasping in horror.

‘Sid!’ she called after him. ‘Come back, we need that bracelet!’

In desperation she looked up at the asteroid, and then at the receding figure of Sid. Before she had time to think about what she was doing, she began to run down the slope after him.

Verity leaned against the tunnel wall and closed her eyes. They had been crawling on their hands and knees for over an hour now and the effort had taken its toll on all of
them. John Bentley crouched beside her and offered her some water, which she drank gratefully.

‘How are you doing?’ he said.

‘I’m about done for after the last few days. Stone’s men aren’t exactly the best of hosts but it’s the Captain I’m worried about.’

Bulldog sat a short way off with his eyes closed. His breath came in rattling gasps.

‘He’s too heavy to carry,’ said Bentley. ‘We could really use your android about now.’ Verity turned away. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, noting the pain
on her face. ‘That was insensitive of me.’

‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘Calculus knew what he was doing. I think staying behind with the machine was what he wanted more than anything else. I’ll miss him though. We
were together for a long time.’

Bentley nodded. ‘Siberia is a hard place and I’ve lost a lot of good friends out here.’ He looked at Clench, who was counting a stack of coins. ‘And some of them
I’ve lost because of that miserable creature over there. When we get back I’m going to see to it that he gets brought to justice.’ He rubbed his palms over his face. ‘If we
ever get back.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Verity. ‘If anyone can shut down that bomb it’s India. She’s as tough as old boots!’ She laughed. ‘I guess she takes after her
old man.’

‘That’s what I’m most worried about.’ Bentley smiled. He turned and sniffed the air. ‘Can you smell that? It smells like . . . pine needles.’

‘It must be the end of the tunnel,’ said Verity. ‘Come on, we’ll be out of here in no time.’

On the other side of the lake, India ran down the hill towards the two rigs, cursing at Sid as she went. A low cliff ran along one side of the track and Sid sprinted along the
top of it, looking down on the rigs for an opportunity to leap.

A door opened on the upper deck and a crewman looked out. Without a moment’s hesitation, Sid leaped from the rocks and crashed down on top of the man, pinning him to the deck. Seconds
later, India arrived at the edge, but pulled up sharply. It was a fifteen-foot drop on to the icy deck and the rig was rolling past steadily. In another few moments it would be out of reach.

Taking a deep breath she leaped into the darkness and crashed into the deck, crying out as a white-hot pain spiked through her twisted knee. She climbed to her feet and limped down the walkway
to where Sid sat astride the helpless crewman, holding the gun to his head.

‘How many?’ said Sid through gritted teeth. ‘How many are in there?’

‘At least fifteen down below and another twelve on the
Ice Queen,’
sneered the grizzled old veteran. ‘Plenty enough to kill you, boy. Though when your pa finds out
you’re still alive I reckon he’ll want to take care of you personally, just like he did that ma of yours.’

Sid’s eyes bulged and before India could stop him, he brought his pistol down on the man’s skull with a dull crack. He climbed from the man’s unconscious body and made for the
open door.

‘Sid, wait,’ said India, struggling to catch up with him. ‘You have to give me the bracelet.’ He ignored her and disappeared inside the rig. Once again, she had no choice
but to follow him.

Verity Brown and John Bentley helped a haggard-looking Captain Bulldog from the tunnel. They found themselves on the far side of the lake, at the edge of a forest.

Verity laughed out loud for sheer joy. ‘It’s so good to be out of that damned hole,’ she said. ‘Remind me never to go in any abandoned treasure caves ever
again.’

Bentley was making Bulldog comfortable against a rock. ‘Don’t celebrate just yet,’ he said. ‘We’ve got company.’

Several dark, ghostly figures were moving through the trees, trailing wisps of greyness.

Bentley picked up a fallen branch. ‘Get moving,’ he said. ‘I’ll hold them off as best I can.’

‘I don’t think we need to,’ said Verity. ‘Look.’

The Valleymen were moving erratically through the trees. Their dark bodies seemed paler and more transparent than before, and they shrank back from the humans like timid animals. In a few
moments the last of them had melted back into the trees.

‘What was
that
all about?’ said Verity.

‘Perhaps that’s the answer,’ said Bentley, pointing at the brilliant sight of Nibiru in the skies above them.

‘The asteroid,’ said Verity under her breath. ‘Is that why the Valleymen are retreating?’

‘Who knows?’ said Bentley. ‘But I think we should get moving in case they decide to come back again.’

‘Good idea,’ she said. ‘Mr Clench, will you give us a hand to—’

She stopped abruptly. Thaddeus Clench was standing ten feet away, holding a small, silver pistol. ‘Just how dumb did you think old Thaddeus was, eh?’ he sneered. ‘You
didn’t think I was just going to let you to turn me in, did you? I’ve got very good hearing, you know, and I never go anywhere without this trinket in my boot.’

‘You won’t get far,’ said Bentley. ‘Sooner or later they’ll find you.’

Clench laughed again. ‘You were good enough to tell me where you kept your snow vehicle.’ He chuckled. ‘So I might get further than you think. Now then, Mr Bentley, I’ll
have those seeds of yours before I go, please.’

Bentley clutched the bag closer. ‘For God’s sake, man!’ he said. ‘These seeds are for the benefit of humanity. You’ve already got your gold, what could you possibly
want these for?’

‘Profit, Mr Bentley,’ he said, holding out his hand for the bag. ‘Food is scarce and I know people who will pay top money to have control of the world’s food supplies. So
hand them over or Mrs Brown gets it.’

John Bentley paused, then held up his hands. ‘Wait, Thaddeus, don’t do this. Hasn’t there been enough destruction and violence? These seeds could mean an end to years of
misery. And think about it. Whoever brings them back will be a hero.’

Clench looked at him suspiciously. ‘What you saying?’

‘I’m saying if you help me to bring them back to London I’ll see you get the credit for it. You can live out your days as
“The Man Who Saved the World from
Starvation”.
Isn’t that better, Thaddeus? Wouldn’t you rather be loved than be rich?’

Clench looked confused. He licked his lips and long seconds ticked by. ‘People would love me?’

Yes,’ said Bentley. ‘They’d be eternally grateful to you for what you’d done. These seeds are more important than any amount of gold.’