Vortex

It was Joseph who spoke first. 'I have to do something,' he stated, almost matter-of-factly. 'Lucian is my brother, and I must take responsibility for his actions.'

And with that, before either of them could do anything about it, he strode round the corner and back down the corridor. Annie gasped and Ben watched, stunned, as he approached the partially open door. Joseph turned back to them, gave them a sad little smile of comradeship and then pushed the door wide open.

'This is not what science is for, Lucian,' he said in a clear, ringing voice. 'This is not what science is for, and it has to stop. Now.'

Chapter Fifteen

'Who is this?'

In the silence that followed Joseph's shock entrance into the room, Ben and Annie had tiptoed back up to the door. The Russian man was speaking, and he sounded as though he was getting increasingly angry.

'I said, who is this?'

'Are you going to tell him, Lucian, or am I?'

A pause.

'It's nobody important,' Lucian hissed. 'You don't need to worry about it.'

'I beg to differ—' Joseph's voice rang clearly; but it was interrupted by a sudden thud, and then a groan. Instinctively, Ben made as if to burst into the room and help the old man, who had clearly just been dealt a debilitating blow, but Annie forcefully held him back. 'Not yet,' she hissed, as voices started up again in the room.

'Don't tell me what I do and don't need to worry about,' the Russian snapped. 'I do not need to tell you what would happen if people found out about this — you for one do not strike me as the type of man who would do well in a prison cell for the rest of your life.'

'That won't happen,' Lucian countered. 'I can deal with this person.'

'You will deal with him in the way I see fit. My employer is quite clear on this matter. If anybody else becomes aware of the existence of this weapon, they are to be eliminated immediately.'

'Eliminated?' Lucian's voice sounded scornful. 'Don't be ridiculous. This isn't Chechnya, my friend. We can't just go around killing people whenever we feel like it. I will deal with this… I'll deal with him, OK?'

'No,' the Russian stated flatly. 'It is not OK. I want him dead before Vortex leaves this place. Your money depends on it, do you understand?'

There was the sound of a fist banging on a hard surface. 'I've told you already, I've been working on this for years. If you think you can start messing me about with the money now—'

Lucian was interrupted by a weak voice. 'Think of what you're saying,' Joseph gasped.

'SHUT THAT LUNATIC UP!' Lucian screamed, and once more there was the sound of scuffling. Ben winced as he heard the unmistakable sound of someone being brutally punched and then falling heavily to the floor.

'It seems to me,' the Russian almost purred, 'that you are a very long way from being able to deal with this intruder. I want him dead before the weapon leaves here, do you understand?'

Lucian sniffed. 'I understand,' he said, seemingly through gritted teeth.

'Then that concludes our business for now. Let me know when it is done.'

Ben and Annie heard movement in the room, and in an instant they realized that the Russian was about to walk out. Quickly they turned and ran, sprinting down the corridor as deftly as their feet would carry them; adrenaline burned in Ben's veins as he prayed that the strange owner of that harsh Russian voice would not see them slip round the corner, and as they hid in the shadows, he half expected to be at the wrong end of a gun at any minute. Nervously he fingered the firearm that he had taken from the guard outside the cell; other than that, they kept perfectly still, their breath held, as they listened to the sound of footsteps dying away.

Only when all was quiet did Annie speak. 'What are we going to do?' she whispered.

Ben's brow furrowed as he tried to think his way through all this. To all intents and purposes, they were stuck down here. They didn't know their way around, and he was pretty sure that as soon as anyone came across them, they'd be history. Moreover, it was only a matter of time before someone discovered that the guard they had incarcerated in their cell was missing. When that happened, all hell would break loose.

Annie interrupted his thoughts. 'Lucian wouldn't really do that, would he?' she trembled. 'Kill him, I mean. His own brother.'

'I don't know,' Ben replied grimly. 'If what Joseph told us was true — and I don't really see any reason to doubt him — then that brother of his is a pretty nasty piece of work. Look what he did to him all those years ago.'

Annie looked troubled. 'But he didn't kill him. Surely that's something, isn't it?'

Ben wanted to agree with her, but he couldn't. 'I don't think we can count on the kindness of Joseph's brother to get us out of this, do you?'

Annie thought for a moment, then shook her head. 'No,' she said finally. 'I don't.'

Silently, Ben held up his handgun. 'I don't know about you,' he said, 'but it seems to me that this is the only ace we're holding.'

His cousin's eyes narrowed. 'Listen to me carefully, Ben,' she said. 'Flight Lieutenant Johnson is still in that room. He's RAF, you can bet your bottom dollar that he's armed, and he's been highly trained. If you rush in there all guns blazing, I promise you he'll have a bullet in your head before you can raise an arm.'

The warning hung there in the air between them. Eventually Ben nodded his head. 'You're right,' he said. 'But if we walk in there unarmed, we'll just be taken prisoner again, and who knows what they'll do with us this time—'

'Quiet!' Annie hushed him. 'Footsteps!'

Ben listened. Sure enough, he heard the unmistakable sound of people leaving the room. And then a voice, so loud that it made them both jump. 'How dare you!' they heard Joseph almost shout. 'How dare you treat me like this and leave my brother alone there with that wicked device!'

A thump.

A pained cough.

'Shut up,' they heard Johnson growl.

Annie's eyes went steely. 'Let's follow them,' she whispered with determination in her voice.

'No,' Ben replied forcefully. 'Don't you see? Joseph was just letting us know that Lucian's alone with the device. He's in charge round here. If we can get him to do what we say, that makes us in charge. You said it yourself — we'd be stupid to go face to face with Johnson.'

'But Joseph—' Annie started to say, and Ben wondered if he saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

'I know,' he whispered. 'I know. But this is the best chance we have of saving him — and stopping Vortex from seeing the light of day.'

Annie bit her lip. 'Do you think it's as bad as Joseph said?' she asked.

Ben breathed out heavily. 'I don't know,' he replied. 'But I don't think it's a risk we can afford to take, do you?'

Annie shook her head.

'OK then,' Ben said tersely. 'Let's go.' And with the gun firmly in his grip, he moved stealthily back up the corridor, round the corner and towards the door. It was shut now, and the two of them waited outside for a brief moment as they prepared themselves for what was to follow. Then Ben stretched his gun arm out straight, pointing the firearm in front of him, and slowly, quietly opened the door.

Lucian was there, but he did not see them at first. His back was turned, and he stooped over a desk against the far wall, resting his hands on the table and seeming to stare into space. His back was hunched, and the hair on the back of his head thin: from this angle, he looked to Ben like a very old man. An old man who was carrying a tremendous weight on his shoulders.

In front of him, in the middle of the room, was another table, a large one, with extremely bright halogen lights beaming down onto it from the ceiling. And on the table, gleaming in the bright light, was a metallic cylinder. It was about the size of a small suitcase, and there was something rather elegant about the smooth, polished metal and the surprisingly few controls and displays that were embedded along the top of the cylinder.