They dared not look back, and they dared not slow down. Only their legs could save them now.
Chapter Twenty
Joseph walked implacably down the concrete corridor.
He knew there wasn't much time. Not because of Ben and Annie and what they had to do, but because of himself. The pressure was building up inside his head; his hands were shaking; he was becoming enshrouded in the black cloak of paranoia. He recognized the warning signs of a psychotic episode only too well. It would happen in minutes or hours; but he knew it would happen. He had to get to Lucian before the shadow fell over his mind and he became helpless.
But first there was something he had to find.
He had seen it before, when he was with the others and they were peering into rooms in this underground warren. He had made a mental note then, but trying to find his way around this maze was an impossibility. He'd know the room when he stumbled upon it, of course, but until then he had only one option: to try every door he came across, and hope that he didn't run into any of the men his brother was commanding to help him in his twisted plan.
The last three rooms he had looked into had been empty. Keep focused, Joseph, he kept telling himself. It won't be long now. You're nearly there. Keep focused.
He stopped, thinking he had heard footsteps. Maybe he had, maybe he hadn't. Maybe they were in his mind. It felt like people were watching him. 'Maybe they are watching you, Joseph,' a voice seemed to say in his head in a light, sing-song way.
He clenched his jaw. 'Get out of my head,' he said out loud. 'You're not there. You don't exist.'
And once again he was surrounded by silence.
Joseph looked around. He had stopped by another door, the only one in the particularly gloomy corridor in which he found himself. He listened carefully to check there was nobody talking on the other side; when he heard nothing, he opened it and peered in.
When he saw what was inside, he smiled to himself. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
There was a light switch on the wall — a very old-fashioned one — and it illuminated a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. On the far wall of the room was a mass of metal shelving, groaning with equipment. The right-hand side contained electrical equipment — wire, switches, batteries. The left-hand side housed several large boxes. On a number of these, written in red letters, were the words Joseph had been looking for: 'DANGER: SEMTEX.'
He knew why Lucian needed to have Semtex. The plastic explosive was used to harden steel that had a high manganese percentage — no doubt that was what he had used to make the components of his terrible weapon. But Joseph had a very different use for it. A more destructive use. A use that would ensure that Vortex could never be remade. At least, not by Lucian. Without hesitation, he went to work.
Making the radio-controlled switch would not prove to be an intellectual difficulty for the old man; what made it harder was the fact that his hands were still shaking, and the equipment he had found required certain adjustments. He soon managed it though, and then he turned his attention to the plastic explosive. He was going to require a large amount of Semtex, and something to carry it in. His eyes fell upon a small silver flight case. He opened it up to discover that it was empty. That would do.
Minutes later, he had loaded several pounds of Semtex into the case. He inserted the two electrical probes of his makeshift detonator into the plastic explosive, closed the case, and then picked up the detonator control he had just constructed.
Once that was done, he allowed himself a moment's silence. His last moment, before he took the greatest risk of his life: the risk of turning himself into a dead man walking.
He took the push-button switch firmly in his right hand, and without further hesitation pressed it down. The moment he released it, the Semtex would explode, and there was enough of the stuff to bring down the whole bunker.
With grim determination, he picked the flight case up in the other hand, then stepped out into the corridor.
'Release it,' the voice said in his head, but Joseph ignored it. It took a great effort of will, but he ignored it. Instead, he started to shout at the top of his voice. 'Where is Lucian?' he bellowed. 'Take me to him. Take me to him now!'
Several times he called, and his voice echoed around the concrete corridors. It did not take long for him to hear the hurried patter of footsteps approaching, and this time he knew without question that they were real, not figments of his damaged imagination. Seconds later, two soldiers came running up the corridor towards him, assault rifles at the ready.
'Get on the floor,' one of them shouted.
'I won't be doing that,' Joseph replied. He held the switch in the air. 'The moment I let go of this, several pounds of high-grade plastic explosive packed into this case will explode.'
The soldiers' eyes widened.
'You must understand that I don't want to harm you, but I will release it unless you do exactly what I say. Do you understand?'
'Y-y-yes,' the soldiers stuttered.
'Good. Now take me immediately to Lucian.'
The soldiers nodded, turned and started to walk down the corridor.
'Not so quickly,' Joseph instructed. 'I'm an old man. I cannot keep up.' The soldiers steadied their pace a little, though they still walked with agitation, throwing nervous glances back at Joseph as they led him along the maze of corridors to Lucian's room. Once there, they knocked.
'What is it?' Lucian's voice called impatiently.
The soldiers walked in, followed by Joseph.
'What do you wa—?' Lucian's question faltered as he saw his brother enter the room.
He was wearing a brown overcoat, and had a briefcase on the table. Flight Lieutenant Johnson was with him. They looked as if they were just preparing to leave, but when Lucian's eyes fell on his brother, he was unable to hide his shock.
'I thought you were—' he started to say.
'Sir!' one of the soldiers interrupted. 'You have to listen to me. He's got a bomb. He has Semtex loaded in that case, and he's carrying a detonator.'
'He's right, Lucian,' Joseph agreed.
Silence fell on the room.
'He's bluffing,' Flight Lieutenant Johnson whispered.
Lucian ignored his sidekick. 'Show me the explosives, Joseph,' he said calmly.
Slowly, his hands still shaking, Joseph placed the flight case on the table and opened it. Lucian's lips went thin when he saw the huge amount of Semtex that was loaded inside. He nodded his head slowly.
'Don't do anything foolish, Joseph,' he said carefully. 'We can sort this out. We can come to an arrangement.'
'An arrangement?' Flight Lieutenant Johnson hissed. 'What are you talking about. He's a madman.'
'Shut up!'
Lucian shouted.
Joseph ignored his abrasive brother. Instead he turned to Johnson. 'A madman?' he murmured. 'So they have been telling me for many years. But there are different kinds of madness, are there not? The madness that inspires someone to develop a weapon that could kill millions, for example. There are enough such weapons in the world, without madmen creating more.' He glanced at Lucian as he spoke, then turned to the two soldiers. 'How long do you need to evacuate this bunker?' he asked.
The soldiers looked at each other. 'Five minutes,' one of them said uncertainly.
'You've got three,' he said, before turning to Johnson. 'You, go with them. Get everyone out and well away from the area. Do you understand?'
White-faced and sweating, Johnson nodded his head.
'Go!'
The three of them left, leaving Joseph alone, finally, with his brother.