The Power of Five Oblivion (63 page)

Matt, Richard, Scarlett and Lohan sat at the table. Richard rummaged around and pulled out a bottle of water, some processed cheese and biscuits and a couple of tins of fruit. Matt saw at once that there wasn’t a lot of food but, as hungry as he was, he didn’t complain. There were thousands of people camped out here and no way of getting fresh supplies. How long had the World Army been here? Days maybe, or weeks. But with the cold, the unrelenting wind and snow, it was clear they were already running out of time.

“I can’t believe we’re together again,” Scarlett said. “Now all we need are Scott, Jamie and Pedro. Do you have any idea where they are?”

“Jamie is in London and Pedro is in Rome,” Matt said. He paused. “Scott is here in Antarctica.”

“Where?” Richard was amazed to hear it. “Are you saying he’s with the World Army? Why haven’t we heard from him?”

“He’s not with us, Richard.” Matt’s voice faltered. “He’s joined the Old Ones.”

“No …” Scarlett couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “That can’t be true, Matt. He’d never do that.”

“He’s with them now, Scarlett. Just two kilometres away on the other side of Oblivion. I know you don’t want to hear it – but it’s true. He decided to join them when he was in Italy and they flew him here.”

“But that means we can’t win!” Scarlett looked horrified. “There have to be five of us.”

Matt sighed. “I know. But you have to understand. Scott has been through a lot and he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. At least he’s here, close to us. He could still change his mind.”

“Can we reach him?”

“Not yet.”

“If only Jamie was here,” Richard said. “He was closer to Scott than any of us.” He turned to Matt. “Where have you been? What were you doing in Brazil?” He nodded at Lohan. “I’m glad you were there to look after him.”

“I’d never have got out without him,” Matt said and Lohan cast his eyes down, remembering how he had behaved.

“I want to hear everything,” Richard said. “When I came out of that door in Giza and found that you weren’t with me…” His voice trailed away. “I thought I’d never see you again,” he said.

“We’ll have time for that later,” Matt said. “But first of all I need to know more about what’s happening here. Tell me about the commander. You said you were worried about him…”

“David Cain!” Richard shook his head. “I suppose we’re lucky to have him. He’s a good man – but the trouble is, he insists on doing things his own way. I don’t know if you saw when you came in, but we’ve got quite a few naval vessels. There’s an Argentinian destroyer, the
Pintada
. Then there’s the
Duc d’Orléans
, which is a French surveillance frigate and not much use. There’s even a British submarine, armed with Polaris missiles. Funnily enough, they’re the most stand-offish. They won’t have anything to do with Scarlett or me.

“Cain came off the US
Pole Star
, like he told you. It’s a Nimitz-class supercarrier. But it’s difficult for him. You have to remember that all these people are basically deserters. They’ve set off on their own to fight the Old Ones. Cain was given the all-clear by Senator Trelawny. Remember him?”

Trelawny was the American politician who had helped Scott and Jamie when they were on the run and who had almost been assassinated in the town of Auburn, California. He had lost the race to become president but he had been helping the Nexus ever since.

“The Nexus have been busy,” Richard went on. “Nobody could rely on government any more. Most of the politicians are either working for the Old Ones or too busy looking out for themselves. But the Nexus have been there with money, supplies, communications. A big part of this army is only here because of them.”

“What’s Cain planning?” Matt asked.

“He was one of the first to arrive and he more or less appointed himself leader of the entire World Army. Maybe it’s no bad thing. He’s decent enough. But you have to watch out for him. I saw his face when you walked in and I don’t think he’s exactly overjoyed you’re here. Anyway, he’s already decided. He’s going to attack the fortress. He was drawing up the plans when you arrived. A military bombardment followed by a full-on assault.”

“That won’t work.”

“I’m sure you’re right. I’ve already said the same. But Commander Cain has no idea what he’s up against. He’s been to military academy and all the rest of it. He fought in Iraq in Operation Iraq Freedom, but that didn’t quite prepare him for shape-changers and demons. He still thinks this is a conventional war.”

“How many people are there here?”

“At the last count, there were two thousand nine hundred and there are more arriving every day. I don’t think there’s a country in the world that isn’t represented. Russia, China, Japan, Australia … you name it. In a way, it’s quite amazing.”

“How long have they been here?”

“The longest … a couple of weeks. And that’s the main problem. We can make our own water but there isn’t enough food to go round, particularly for the people who came on ordinary boats. Two or three more weeks. That’s all we can manage. People are already cold and hungry and they’re beginning to get weak. We can’t let that happen.”

“Has Cain said when he wants to attack?”

“Yes. Tomorrow. If you’d come twenty-four hours after you did, it would have been too late. Scarlett’s going to raise a blizzard and we’re going to use it as cover when we cross Oblivion.”

Matt glanced at Scarlett.

“I’m not sure if he believes me or not,” she said. “I’ve been trying to make it warmer here, to get the sun to break through, but I don’t think I’ve been able to make much of a difference. It’s too much for me. I told the commander I could give him a snowstorm for the attack but he probably just thinks that there was one on the way anyway.” She sighed. “I’m fifteen years old and I’m a girl. Commander Cain doesn’t really like having me around.”

“I’ll talk to him in the morning,” Matt said. He had eaten the fruit and cheese and quickly drained his glass. “Right now, I’m tired. I need to sleep.”

“We’ve got more camp beds set up in premium economy,” Richard said. “Larry and Zack prefer to sleep in first class … but I suppose it’s their plane. I’ll show you.”

He led Matt out of the front cabin. Lohan stayed behind with Scarlett. The two pilots still hadn’t returned but there was guitar music coming from below, soft and strangely comforting in the pale grey night. There were half a dozen bunks spread out with blankets and pillows. Richard took Matt to the one at the very end.

“You can go next to me,” he said.

“Thanks, Richard.”

Matt lay down on the bunk and pulled the cover over himself.

“Tell me about Scott,” Richard said. “You knew it was going to happen, didn’t you?”

Matt wasn’t sure how to answer. “I had an idea. Yes.”

“Couldn’t you have stopped him?”

“I don’t think so.” Matt propped himself up on one elbow. “I never thought it would end this way,” he said. “Everything seems so different now. When you and I first met, in Yorkshire … did you have any idea?”

“If I’d had any idea, I wouldn’t have spoken to you. I wouldn’t even have opened the door.”

“Do you remember Jayne Deverill?

“I’m hardly likely to forget her.”

“That was ten years ago,” Matt said. “That’s what I have to keep reminding myself. Ten whole years have gone by since then … at least for everyone else. And nothing’s the same any more.”

“But we’ll win in the end,” Richard said. “Won’t we?”

“It’ll all work out the way it’s meant to.” Matt sank back onto the bunk, curling his body with his head against the pillow. He smiled tiredly. “I’m glad to see you again. You’re my closest friend. At least that hasn’t changed.”

“You still haven’t told me about Brazil,” Richard said.

But Matt was already asleep.

FORTY-EIGHT

Commander David Cain, senior officer on the US sixth fleet aircraft carrier
Pole Star
, holder of the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal, acting chief executive of the World Army, stood on a raised dais, addressing the one hundred and fifty servicemen and resistance leaders who had been invited into the tent. This was his moment. There was nothing left to discuss. As far as he was concerned, all the decisions had been made.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began. “We have arrived at the day of Oblivion. This is the day we bring the fight to the Old Ones and take the world back into our own hands. I’m not pretending it’s going to be easy. Only a fraction of the people here have been combat trained and the great majority of them have never seen action before. We have done our best to equip them. Since we have been here, we have tried to show them how to fight. But I would be the first to admit to you that we’re a poor excuse for an army and we can expect many casualties.

“And yet, at the same time, never underestimate what is possible if you have right on your side. There have been revolutions in France and America, in Russia and South Africa. History is full of moments when the people have come together and taken what is rightfully theirs. This is our world. We never invited the Old Ones into it. And with God’s help, we will drive them out. We will prevail.”

Perhaps Cain was waiting for applause. Perhaps he saw himself as the lead actor in a Hollywood film. But what he had said was greeted only by a respectful silence and when he continued, his voice was quieter, his words more considered.

“We cannot wait any longer. Food supplies are already running low and you all know we can’t spend very much more time out on the ice. The Old Ones are waiting for us to make our move but there’s always a chance that they will take the initiative and launch a surprise attack. That would be disastrous. They have superior manpower. They have … creatures. I wasn’t brought up or trained to face anything like this. I’ll be honest. To me, frankly, they’re like comic-book nightmares. But the fact is that they have us with our backs to the sea. That’s not a good position to be in and I will not wait for them to come out of their hidey-hole and drive us back. We must hit them before they hit us. We must do it now.

“And so I am putting Operation First Strike into action, the details of which we have discussed in this room. Starting at twelve hundred hours today, our six Super Hornet aircraft will launch an attack on the fortress, firing infrared, homing surface-to-air missiles. Their aim is to breach the outer walls and to cause major casualties within. They will be supported by cruise missiles from the British and the Argentinians and Sea Darts from the French.

“This will be followed by an armed assault by our ground forces. We will move across the ice shelf in five groups. I will be leading the group code-named Hawk. Captain Allenby will lead Bear. Colonel General Shubniakov will be in charge of Lynx. General Sabato will lead Panther. And Lieutenant Greyson will head up Wolf. Field hospitals will be in place at Sectors Nine and Seventeen. We had earlier agreed that no children under the age of eighteen would be allowed to participate, but in view of the presence of two Gatekeepers among us, I intend to amend that rule. Scarlett Adams has told me that she can produce weather cover in the form of a blizzard commencing immediately after the initial bombardment. My guess is that smoke and snow disruption caused by the Super Hornets will provide much the same, but in any event, our troops have every chance of crossing Oblivion unseen.

“Just so that we are quite clear about this, let me say with the very greatest regret that a nuclear strike is still not an option today. Our friends in the British Royal Navy carry Trident missiles on board the submarine HMS
Percival
, each of which has twelve independently targetable nuclear warheads. That’s more than enough to vaporize the fortress and everything inside it. But the computers have crashed and they’re unable to implement launch procedures. I don’t have to tell you that this situation is unprecedented and we can only assume that somehow, impossibly, the enemy have managed to hack into the system. Our people are still looking into it but we have to accept that the missiles are not operational and we can no longer wait for that situation to change. We have to fight with what we have. And that fight will begin just under six hours from now. Any questions?”

The commander’s bright blue eyes swept across the assembly, almost challenging them. Richard waited for someone to speak. As far as he could see, the plan was suicidal whichever way he looked at it. But nobody said anything. Maybe they had spent too long sitting on the ice. They just wanted it to be over. They didn’t care how.

“All right,” Cain said. “Go and prepare your people. I want everyone in position by eleven hundred hours. Captain Johnson, you will be executive officer on board the
Pole Star
in my absence. In the event of my death, command passes to Captain Allenby. Good luck, everyone, and may God be with you.”

The tent began to empty but Richard saw that Matt hadn’t moved. Just looking at him, he guessed that Matt had decided to challenge the commander but hadn’t wanted to do so in front of the crowd. Eventually, only Cain and a couple of his personal staff were left. Matt moved forward. Richard, Scarlett and Lohan went with him.

Cain was studying a map full of arrows and troop formations. He looked up as Matt approached. “Yes?”

“Your plan won’t work, Commander,” Matt said. The other members of Cain’s staff stared at him, shocked. He went on quickly, before they could interrupt. “If you launch this attack, a lot of people are going to be killed – for no good reason. I’m not sure that planes and missiles will do any damage at all to the fortress. The same goes for nuclear bombs. With respect, sir, I don’t think you know what you’re dealing with. You don’t know how powerful the Old Ones are.”

“And you do?”

“Yes, sir. I saw them in the Nazca Desert. That was when they came back into the world. I tried to stop them.”

“You failed.”

Matt shrugged. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. You can’t stop them. Even this briefing this morning … that was probably a mistake. They could have been listening in. They could have heard every word.”

“I know every single person who came into this tent. There wasn’t a single man or woman here I don’t trust with my life.”