‘Tell me then, Hugo – what’s surprising about Green Johannes?’
‘Johannes stone is only found in one tiny mine near Korsur, just on the Holmland side of the Gallian border. It comes in a number of varieties and Green Johannes is very, very rare.’
Aubrey looked up from the undeniably attractive striped stone. Something buried in his memory was struggling to make itself known, trying to rise above the snippets of information, the sawn-off ends of ideas and the half-formed conclusions that swirled about in the deepest recesses of his mind.
‘Valuable, is it?’
‘Greatly. It’s worth a thousand times more than Brown Johannes, a hundred times more than Blue Johannes -’
‘I see the pattern, Hugo. It’s the most valuable Johannes stone there is.’
‘Apart from Crystal Johannes, but the last of that was mined a hundred years ago.’ Von Stralick hefted the shapeless stone. ‘This is freshly extracted. See? It hasn’t been worked or polished.’
‘Which is all well and good, Hugo, but what’s your point?’
‘I’m not sure. Again, like you, where Dr Tremaine is concerned I take note of anything out of the ordinary.’ Von Stralick carefully replaced the Green Johannes on the mantelpiece.
Aubrey’s memory wasn’t being cooperative. He shook his head. ‘I wouldn’t have known that lump of stone was out of the ordinary.’
‘That is where you’re fortunate to be associated with a Green Johannes collector.’
‘To tell you the truth, Hugo, I have trouble thinking of you as a collector.’
‘Fitzwilliam, you still have much to learn about the spying business. When I was a cultural attache to various Holmland embassies, being a collector gave me good reason to be out and about, poking my nose into various emporia. I became quite an expert in Green Johannes ware, to my surprise.’
‘Where’s your collection now?’
‘Probably in the home of one of the Chancellor’s good friends.’ He glanced at Aubrey. ‘I do not want you to think that my antipathy toward the Chancellor and his cronies is due to my collection’s being stolen. I’m much less straightforward than that.’
‘Hugo, I promise: I’ll never think you’re straightforward.’
Von Stralick looked wistfully at the lump of stone. ‘It’s a fine specimen.’
‘Don’t worry. Once we’ve sorted out all this mess, I’ll help you start your collection again. I think we have a pair of candlesticks made out of the stuff, up in the attic somewhere. I’m sure Mother and Father wouldn’t miss them.’
Especially since Mother called them ghastly and bundled them away as soon as she could.
‘That is decent of you,’ von Stralick said. ‘And I use that word carefully, knowing what it means to you Albionites.’
‘In a land of understatement, there is no higher praise than being called decent.’
Von Stralick put a finger to his lips. ‘I have an idea.’ He strode from the operations room.
Aubrey decided to continue investigating the operations room. He began rummaging through the nearest Out tray, looking for incriminating invoices or delivery dockets, something to give concrete evidence of the comings and goings, but all he found were internal documents. It was as if the outside world didn’t exist.
This room had been the centre of Dr Tremaine’s activities for over a month. It was inconceivable that he could leave no trace of what he’d been up to. If Aubrey had time he was sure he could find something, but admiring a piece of undeniably handsome stone had meant little time was left before the lorry would arrive.
‘We have to go,’ von Stralick snapped as he rushed back into the operations room.
‘Did you find anything useful?’
‘I found the switchboard. Three operators, it had, if each required a chair. No documents, but as I hoped, one of them had used a pencil on the counter to list frequently called exchanges. I have them. They may be of some use.’
He handed Aubrey a scrap of paper. ‘Many of the numbers are in Fisherberg, but more are in Bardenford.’
‘That’s only natural. Bardenford is the nearest major city to the estate. The others?’
‘Scattered around Holmland, the important cities and ports, Stalsfrieden on the border with Gallia.’ Von Stralick tapped the list with a finger. ‘The only oddity is the exchange listing for Korsur.’
Aubrey frowned. Why was a Holmland village, the home of Green Johannes, featuring in Dr Tremaine’s schemes? ‘I may have an idea.’
Von Stralick stopped. ‘You have no shortage of ideas. Tell me, though: is it a good one?’
Aubrey answered a question with a question. ‘What’s your experience with interrogation, Hugo?’
‘I’ve been on both sides. I prefer to be the one asking the questions.’
‘You can do it humanely?’
‘Ah, now there’s a question.’ Von Stralick took his time before answering. ‘In my view, torture is a most unreliable way of obtaining information. People will tell you anything to make it stop, so how do you know what to believe?’
‘You’ve done this?’
‘I’ve seen it done by stupid people and by people who thought they were clever. It is distasteful.’
‘But the other way. You can get information from people without using torture?’
‘I have my methods.’
‘Good. When these guards come back, what do you say to capturing them and getting information out of them?’
Von Stralick nodded sharply and, together, they ran from the operations room – but just before Aubrey left, he snatched a handful of rubber bands from one of the desks.
9
Aubrey and von Stralickpositioned themselves in the bushes on either side of the stairs that led from the doors of the main house. From there, they could see the gates; soon, the lorry, after complaining its way up the steepest part of the ascent, lumbered through the entrance to the estate.
Aubrey had one hand in the pocket of his jacket as the lorry crunched its way along the gravel of the driveway, white in the night-time. He was prepared. He’d put together a spell using the Law of Amplification, the Law of Action at a Distance and the Law of Propensity and he was confident. The guards would be in the one place at the one time and he was sure he could bind them with the ensorcelled rubber bands.
The headlights of the lorry flashed across the bushes as it followed the curve to the main entrance. Aubrey couldn’t help but duck, even though he was well hidden.
With a screech of brakes, the lorry pulled up. One of the guards alighted, followed by the broad-shouldered driver. They stood inspecting the main house as if they’d never seen it before and Aubrey waited, frustrated, for the others to climb down from the rear of the lorry.
Aubrey ground his teeth. If he enacted his spell now he could lose the advantage of surprising the other guards, but if he waited, they’d separate and he could lose the chance.
Von Stralick nudged him and glared. Aubrey parted the bushes, squinted, then quickly stood and threw the rubber bands. He chanted the spell and then ducked again, joining von Stralick scuttling through the vegetation along the front of the house.
When they reached the corner of the house, they had a good line of sight. Aubrey’s magical awareness allowed him to see the enspelled rubber bands, hooping through the air toward the unsuspecting guards. The bands were expanding as they went and moving with a single intent like a flock of birds. He clenched his fist and, silently, cheered them on.
At the last moment, the shorter of the guards looked up and cried out, but it was too late. The bands swooped, and in an instant they were looping and tangling in precisely the way Aubrey’s spell had encouraged them.
Aubrey was on his feet and running as the oaths and cries came from the guards. Von Stralick overtook him. When the Holmlander reached the knot of swearing intruders on the gravel, he leaned against the lorry and yawned. He brandished his revolver. ‘Do not move,’ he said, in Holmlandish, ‘if you value your life.’