The Broken Sun (21 page)

‘Bazookas,' Jack murmured. ‘I think you're right.'

The man
looked
like Mr Doyle. He could have been a younger version of the great detective.

Phillip was in a cell on the other side of the passageway. Jack went to the bars
and pushed his face through. ‘Phillip? Can you hear me?'

The man did not reply, only stared wordlessly into space. Jack and Scarlet called
his name several more times, but he either didn't hear or wasn't interested in replying.
Some other men in the cells sat up and stared, but like Phillip they remained silent,
lost in their own worlds.

Another man in the next cell, who was missing arms, spoke up. ‘The government must
pay,' he said. ‘The criminals are the men of Westminster.'

‘What is your name?' Scarlet asked. ‘Who are you?'

‘Betrayals must be repaid.' His face twitched. ‘The blood of the innocent will be
avenged.'

‘Please,' Jack said. ‘We want to help you.'

The stranger lay back down on his bunk, his lips moving as if reading words on the
ceiling.

‘What's wrong with them?' Jack asked Scarlet.

‘I don't know. It's as if their minds have been affected.'

‘From the war?'

‘Possibly. Many men were left shell shocked from battle. They suffered a kind of
mental trauma from the stress of being in such a terrible environment.'

‘But what are they doing here?' Jack asked. ‘They should be in a hospital.'

‘Could they be part of Darrow's plan?' Scarlet's eyes went wide. ‘Could they be the
men he uses in his machines?'

‘They must be! Darrow must have kidnapped them from the battlefields and brainwashed
them.'

The thought was horrible. If Jack was right, these men had been kept in captivity
for years. Injured in battle and scarred by their experiences in the war, they has
been brought here to further manipulate their minds.

‘What will we do?' Jack asked.

‘First things first,' Scarlet replied. ‘Let's get out of here.' She produced her
lock pick and undid the cell door.

Jack crossed to Phillip's cell, placing his face near the bars.

‘Phillip,' he said. ‘My name is Jack. I'm a friend of your father. I want you to
come with us.'

Phillip had been staring unfocused at the floor. His eyes now shifted to the ceiling.
‘Father,' he whispered.

‘Jack,' Scarlet said, gently touching his arm. ‘We can't take Phillip.' She motioned
to his damaged legs. ‘Not without a wheelchair.'

‘Phillip,' Jack called. ‘Can you move? Can you travel with us?'

But he still didn't answer.

‘We're coming back for you, Phillip,' Jack said. ‘We'll get you out of here. Your
father is waiting. He's been waiting for years.'

‘Jack.' Scarlet pulled at his arm. ‘We have to go.'

Jack turned to all the men. ‘We're coming back for you. You're going home. You're
all going home.'

Scarlet had eased open the door and peered through. A man sat on the other side,
reading a newspaper. Leckie.

‘Excuse me,' Jack said.

Leckie looked up in amazement.

‘Is this the way to Piccadilly Circus?' Jack punched him in the chin and knocked
him unconscious to the ground. Jack picked up his gun.

‘Jack,' Scarlet said.

‘What?'

‘You know what your aim is like.'

He handed over the weapon. While Mr Doyle did not allow them to carry firearms, he
had let them practise in a shooting range. Jack had hit the ceiling, floor and walls
more times than the target. Scarlet was a far better shot.

‘Just don't shoot my foot off,' he said.

She checked the gun. ‘I'm not making any promises.' Jack led them in the other direction,
following the corridor until it turned, ending at an oak door. A small window, laced
with bars, was set into it. Beyond lay an overgrown path. And freedom.

‘This looks good,' Jack said.

Scarlet pushed against it. ‘It looks good, but it's not opening. It's bolted on the
other side.'

A distant shout echoed down the tunnel.

‘Oh dear,' Scarlet said. ‘They've found Leckie.'

Jack gave the door a shove. ‘I might be able to get this open if you can buy us some
time.'

Scarlet went back to the turn in the tunnel to keep a lookout as Jack threw his shoulder
against the door. The sound of men's voices grew closer. ‘I advise you not to proceed
any further,' Scarlet called to them. ‘I am armed with a weapon and prepared to use
it.'

The sound of laughter rang down the tunnel.

‘You're a nice girl,' Johnson yelled back. ‘Why don't you put that gun down before
you hurt yourself?'

‘Why don't you come and take it?'

A gunshot followed and a man started screaming.

‘She shot me! She shot me in the leg!'

‘I'll aim for your eyes next time!'

Scarlet continued firing as Jack redoubled his efforts with the door. ‘I think you'd
better hurry,' she said.

She was running out of bullets.

Jack's shoulder was starting to ache and it didn't look like the door was going to
give way anytime soon.
You've got to open
, he thought.
Come on. Come on!

Craaack!

‘Scarlet,' he yelled. ‘Quickly!'

They tumbled out into bright sunlight. Jack breathed the air in deeply, but there
was no time to relax. An old bench was nearby. Jack closed the door and jammed it
against the handle.

They raced away down a path into some dense woods. The coast was only a few minutes
away. Jack glanced back at Scarlet. Her cheeks were flushed, the wind ran through
her red hair, but she wore an expression of grim determination. Her eyes met his.

‘Blinkie would be proud of you,' he said.

‘It's Brinkie, you idiot!' she yelled and they both laughed.

A small bay came into view with a dock and a few boats tied up at it. A man was just
coming in on a small steamboat and, as they raced up the pier, he started to reach
into his jacket.

‘Don't!' Scarlet snapped, waving the gun at him. ‘Get in the water!'

The man took one look at her and jumped into the bay.

Climbing into a boat, Jack quickly worked out the controls and accelerated away from
the pier.

‘I thought you were going to shoot him,' Jack said.

‘With what?' she asked. ‘I'm out of bullets.'

Jack brought the engine to full throttle as Scarlet fed coal to the furnace. They
were soon out of the bay and into the channel heading for the coast. Jack glanced
back. A larger ship was in pursuit.

‘Wave your gun,' Jack said. ‘Pretend you're going to shoot them.'

‘I don't know if this is achieving anything,' she yelled. ‘But it makes me feel better.'

He kept their small boat at full throttle, but the other ship, with its bigger engine,
continued to gain. They heard an explosion and a whistle, and something whizzed over
their bow.

‘That was a cannonball,' Scarlet yelled.

Jack swung the wheel around, zigzagging the boat so they presented a more difficult
target. Another cannonball sailed through the air. The ship was growing closer with
every passing second.

‘We're not going to make it!' Jack said. ‘Do you have any ideas?'

‘There was a Brinkie Buckeridge story where she attached a bomb to a dead body and
floated it towards an oncoming ship!' Scarlet shouted. ‘It acted as a mine, blowing
it to pieces.' Jack stared at her, speechless.
‘You said you wanted suggestions!
I didn't say it was a good one!'

Again, Jack swung the boat about. ‘Hang on!' he said. ‘And be ready for anything.'

‘Certainly, but we're now heading directly towards the other ship.'

‘I know. We're on a collision course.'

‘I've heard of captains going down with their ships, but this is ridiculous.'

‘Get ready to jump.'

The ship fired its cannon and this time it slammed into their bow. Timber exploded
in all directions and their small craft lurched to one side. Scarlet was thrown to
the floor as Jack hung onto the wheel, trying to keep them aimed at the other craft.

‘Get ready to jump!' Jack cried. ‘Now! Jump!
Jump!
' Jack and Scarlet leapt into the
water as the oncoming ship fired another cannonball that sliced through their deck.
But nothing could stop their boat's forward momentum.

Cra-ash!

Jack surfaced to see the pursuing vessel listing badly with a football-sized hole
in its side.

Scarlet bobbed in the water next to him. ‘Not as good as the exploding body,' she
said. ‘But it will suffice.'

‘We need to swim for it,' Jack said. ‘They'll be on us in a minute if they don't
sink.'

Scarlet peered doubtfully at the coast. ‘It's still a mile away.'

‘There's no other choice.'

The water was freezing. Their clothing made swimming difficult. Jack considered ditching
his green coat, but he wasn't prepared to lose the portrait of his parents or his
compass.

He glanced back to see their little fishing boat disappear beneath the waves. The
other ship was now aimed in their direction.

‘Jack!' Scarlet yelled. ‘They're not slowing.'

The ship was now so close that Jack could see the man behind the wheel. It was Leckie.

‘He's going to run us over!' Jack cried.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A great shadow fell over them.
This is it
, Jack thought.
This is how it ends.

But the ship didn't slam into him. Instead, shots rang out and Jack looked up to
see blue sky and an enormous silver balloon with the name
Enforcer
emblazoned on
the side.

‘It's Scotland Yard!' Scarlet yelled. ‘And they're armoured.'

The
Enforcer
swept in low over the water, aimed a cannonball and fired. The ship
exploded. Jack and Scarlet ducked as debris splashed all around them. What remained
sank within seconds.

‘Good heavens,' Scarlet said.

‘I think we're saved,' Jack said. ‘But who…?'

The airship descended and a window slid across. Three heads simultaneously appeared.

‘Mr Doyle!' Jack yelled.

‘And Clarice and Phoebe!' Scarlet said.

Jack and Scarlet scrambled up a metal rung ladder. Cheers erupted on board.

‘How did you find us?' Jack asked. ‘Where have you been?'

‘We did a quick spin of the art gallery first,' Mr Doyle said, his eyes twinkling.
‘Then a trip over to Brighton Pier. Fed the seagulls and…'

‘Ignatius!' Phoebe said. ‘Don't tease them!'

‘Then I will be concise. Thanks to the efforts of Mr Spaulding and his men, we all
escaped. Tobias Bradstreet, Kip and Tan were shot, but will live. Likewise, the crew
of the
Explorer
survived the crash into the sea. Many were injured, but made it to
shore before the vessel sank in shallow waters.

‘At first, all seemed grim as we tried to find you. Then we sighted Darrow's airship
leaving the island. We found your tracks and realised you had been taken.'

‘But how did you escape the island?' Scarlet asked.

‘You recall the equipment on board the
Explorer
?'

‘Of course.'

‘And what was stored in the hull?'

Jack thought for a moment. ‘You don't mean—'

Mr Doyle nodded. ‘The submersible. Phoebe is an excellent diver, as it turns out.
She was able to dive to
the wreck, causing the submersible to surface. We made it
operational with the help of Mr Bradstreet and his remarkable crew.'

‘But you couldn't make it back to England in the submersible.'

‘No, that distance is too great. We were, however, able to reach the African coast.
From there we hired an airship—'

‘—and that's how you got back to England.'

‘Exactly.'

‘But how did you find us?'

‘Fortunately, thanks to Clarice, we had the name of George Darrow. I had also taken
note of the registration number on the side of his airship. We contacted Scotland
Yard upon our return—and here we are.' Ignatius Doyle grew serious. ‘Unfortunately
Professor Clarke and Gloria are still afflicted by the Sleeping Death. Their prognosis
is not good.'

‘Wait!' Jack cried out so suddenly that everyone jumped, even Mr Doyle. ‘I have the
plant!'

‘The plant?' Phoebe's eyes grew wide.

‘We found New Atlantis!' he yelled, dragging the remains of the ivory leaves from
his shirt.

‘What?' Phoebe gasped. ‘Tell me! What was it like?'

‘That can wait,' Mr Doyle said. ‘We need to get this plant to the hospital immediately.'

The hold of the
Enforcer
contained a small runabout that could start back to London
as soon as possible. A
pilot was assigned, and Phoebe offered to accompany Clarice
on the journey.

After they departed, Scarlet turned to Mr Doyle and said, ‘We have some rather important
news.'

‘What is it?' he asked.

Jack briefly described their journey to Smollett's Island and what they found in
the underground cells. ‘And Mr Doyle,' he finally said. ‘We found Phillip.'

The detective went pale. ‘You've both been through a lot…'

‘He was in one of the cells,' Scarlet said firmly. ‘Phillip is alive.'

‘We're not crazy,' Jack said. He went on to explain the condition of the men and
the theory that they had been brainwashed. ‘I don't know what Darrow's intentions
are, but he is planning something.'

‘It…it's almost too much to take in,' Mr Doyle said. ‘We must journey to the island
and rescue Phillip and those men.'