“That’s a bit simple.”
“You got a terrible memory Hicks. Wouldn’t want you to forget it.”
There was a chuckle from the other end. “I have to make a detour and drop Simon’s formula down the well. It’s wrapped in a waterproof oilskin. You get through the gate and hide in the trees. Give a shout when you see me come through.”
“Don’t be all day then.” Wisps of condensation swirled around Leslie’s head as she spoke. “It’s pretty cold to be sitting around in the snow.”
“I’ll be speeding towards you on wings of desire.”
“Corny, Hicks, but romantic all the same. This date is starting to look promising.”
“Can’t wait. Over and out.”
Leslie grinned to herself, slapping her arms to keep warm. Barn blew loudly into his hands.
“Can I go back now? I’m freezing.”
“Yeah,” Leslie gave him a hug. “And thank you for everything.”
“You have a good time, Leslie,” Barn said. “Don’t eat any yellow snow.”
He pulled up his hood and headed back towards the buildings.
In the dormitory Jimmy glanced across at Simon and Dave. He held up the walkie talkie so that Leslie could hear what was going on.
“Ready?”
Simon raised his head and nodded, then went back to typing on his console. “Shutting down Pinewood’s electronic locks…. now!”
“The disk is in, Hicks.” Leslie hissed over the walkie talkie.
“And… reactivating the locks…” Dave’s voice followed almost immediately. “bingo!”
The boys sat back in unison. There was silence. No alarm bells rang. There were no running footsteps in the corridor.
“Ya dancer! Go on yersel, Hicksy man. We did it!”
“Punching in lock override code 1234 and removing disc.” Leslie’s walkie talkie crackled to life. “The gate’s open Jimmy! I’m through and punching in the same code on the other side. And… it’s locked again.”
Her voice trembled with unsuppressed glee. “Hicks, I’m outside Pinewood!”
“Go into the forest and wait,” Jimmy grinned. “I’ll be there soon.”
In the lowest level, one door swung slowly back and forward on its well-oiled hinges. It had only been unlocked for a second, but that second was all the person inside needed. She may not have known every part of Jimmy Hick’s plan, but she knew the part about disabling the locks. After all, she had designed the disk.
It was just a matter of listening for the exact moment the lock mechanism deactivated then giving the door a push.
May-Rose was out.
18.10
Cowper, Cruikshank, Monk and Olly were taking a short break in the interview room, sipping tea out of plastic cups and eating Ginger Snaps. It was more to calm their nerves than anything else.
“Suppose for a second you’re right, kid,” Olly said. Monk gave a sarcastic snort, but the bearded researcher carried on. “What the hell does May-Rose want you for? No offence, of course.”
“None taken.” Cruikshank wasn’t about to land himself in hot water by mentioning the children’s escape plan, or the fact that May-Rose had initially been part of it. He pretended the question had been a broader one.
“I think she’s evolved into something we can’t comprehend,” he said earnestly. “She may be looking at some big picture that even my intellect can’t understand.”
“Not like you to be modest, son,” Major Cowper said acerbically.
A rattling staccato sound came from somewhere far off in the corridors outside. Olly and Monk barely noticed it, but Cowper jerked out of his seat.
“That’s gunfire.” He moved swiftly to the door and hammered. Two guards backed in, weapons already cocked.
“You hear that, Major?” one of them hissed. Cowper didn’t have to reply. The bursts were closer together now and getting louder.
“Dr Monk. Return to your lab,” Cowper snapped. “You two, get this boy to the elevator and take him to the surface.”
“What about you sir?”
Cowper pulled his automatic pistol from its holster.
“I’ll be along presently,” he said. Then he turned and ran down the corridor
Jimmy Hicks shook hands with Simon and Dave and shouldered his rucksack. Inside were several Mars Bars, a bottle of wine he’d stolen from the canteen, Simon’s formula for Stripped Light and a present for Leslie wrapped in blue Christmas paper.
“When you see Barn, tell him to hurry up,” Simon reminded him. “He’s probably stopped to make the world’s biggest snow angel or something.”
“Are the cameras guarding the outside door still rigged to show an empty corridor?” Jimmy asked.
“Naw man. We put them back on as a practical joke.”
“Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow,” Jimmy grinned. Then he slipped out of the dormitory.
18.13
The guards ushered Cruikshank from of the room and hurried him along the passageways.
“I left my MP3 player behind,” the boy said apprehensively. “I’d just bought a matching case for it.”
The soldiers didn’t respond. They walked silently on the balls of their feet, weapons held in front, eyes trained on each passing door. Cruikshank noticed with alarm that the lights on the security cameras overhead weren’t blinking any more. His escorts had seen this too, nodding briefly to each other in the direction of the ceiling. Each time they reached a bend in the corridor, one soldier would dart round, covering the new area, then beckon for his companion to follow.
Cruickshank’s palms were sweating. He wondered if, somehow, Jimmy Hick’s escape plan had gone wrong and this was the cause of the alarms.
“Can’t you use the intercoms or a walkie talkie or something?” Cruikshank was feeling dizzy with fear and his legs were trembling like harp strings. “Find out what’s going on.”
“And give away our position in the process?” one guard replied without looking round. “Until the precise nature of the danger is identified we maintain radio silence.”
“Base policy,” the other added.
After a few minutes they reached one long, dimly lit passage. At the far end Cruikshank could see the doors of an elevator, their route to salvation. Then a horrible thought struck him.
“What if this unidentified danger is above us as well?” he ventured.
“Then stay behind us when we exit the lift.”
“With pleasure.”
There was burst of automatic fire behind them. One of the guards spun away from Cruickshank and hit the opposite wall, mouth opening wide in pain. He slid to the floor, jerking spasmodically, a bright patch of crimson spreading across his chest. The other soldier flung Cruikshank further up the corridor and crouched down, swinging his rifle round the corner. He let off a burst of automatic fire then withdrew his arm and flattened himself against the wall, as return bursts gouged chips from the plaster inches from his head.
Cruickshank bounded to his feet, his whole body shaking.
“Head for the elevator!” the soldier shouted. “You need the base security code to activate it. The number is PD641….” His voice trailed off.
“What? What is it?” The terrified boy felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. The soldier pointed and Cruickshank whirled round.
May Rose was standing between him and the lift, flanked by five soldiers◦– they had stepped silently out of one of the doors dotted along the final corridor.
Cruickshank’s protector swung his gun violently back, slamming the stock into his shoulder and squinting along the barrel, but the boy was directly between himself and the girl.
The remaining guard was doomed and he knew it. The look on his face registered despair, anger and fear in one horrific countenance. Then he shut one eye and pulled the trigger.