A Trail Through Time (The Chronicles of St Mary's) (13 page)

‘No, my brilliant idea is that we land inside the big transport pod – TB2.’

‘Why?’

He sighed. ‘I’ll keep it simple for the History department. I land inside TB2 and exit this pod, closing the door behind me. I am now inside TB2 and can open that door because this pod door is shut. It will be like an airlock. So long as one door is always closed, the Time Police won’t be able to track you. I get Helen to remove your tag – properly, this time. I’ll take the tag and drop it inside the volcano as discussed. They’ll think you perished in the eruption as we planned. We’ll both be free and clear. Now, hush. I have to do this manually. Let the master work.’

I snorted and then found I did want the rest of my tea after all.

The intended discreet touchdown at St Mary’s went about as well as everything else had up until now. He’d done his best, but he hadn’t got it quite right, and we materialised about a foot off the ground, dropping with a bone juddering crash onto the floor of the big transport pod, TB2.

A sympathetic and supportive companion, aware of what a cracking job he’d done under difficult circumstances, and of how tired and stressed he was, would have chirped reassuringly from her nest of blankets and then kept her mouth shut.

‘Am I the only person in this unit who can land a bloody pod properly?’

He was shutting things down. ‘Are we on fire? Have we cartwheeled across the hangar? Are we upside down? No. By your standards, that was a perfect touchdown. How’s the arm?’

‘Fine. What now?’

‘Well, at least I won’t have to go and look for Dieter. Half of St Mary’s will be outside by now.’

With sudden anxiety, I said, ‘Take care, Leon. The Time Police might still be here.’

‘I’ll turn the screen so you can see what’s going on. Back in a minute. Do not open that door.’

He disappeared. And reappeared.

‘Don’t say anything. To anyone. You’re too sick to speak – understand?’

‘Yes.’

He sighed in exasperation. ‘What did I just say?’

‘How should I know? I wasn’t listening.’

He disappeared again.

TB2 was our big pod. Designed to carry large numbers of people or specialised equipment, it was easily able to accommodate one small pod. There was enough light to enable me to make him out. I watched him walk to the doors. He looked back once, to check the pod door was still closed, let down the ramp, and disappeared. The ramp came up again and I was on my own.

Our pod was suddenly very empty.

I lay for what seemed like a very long time with no clue as to what was happening out there. Had he been arrested? Had the Time Police pounced as soon as he exited TB2?

‘
No,
’ said a rarely heard voice of reason. ‘
Otherwise they’d have been in here and shot you by now.
’

True.

I didn’t dare take my eyes off the screen. I could feel waves of hot, dark pain washing over me and I knew that, in a few minutes, I’d be walking in shadows again, and I couldn’t afford that. I had to stay alert. I stared at the screen as if my life depended up it, which it might, and tried not to worry. I concentrated on lying still because the least movement sent ripples of red-hot pain surging up my arm.

Come on, Leon.

I felt sweat run down my back. My scalp prickled with it. I was drenched again. I jerked open my eyes.

Come on, Leon.

I swear I never took my eyes off the screen, but suddenly, the pod was full of people.

I saw Dr Foster. She had short hair. It suited her. I saw Nurse Hunter, a little plumper than the one I remembered, but she still smelled of baby powder. I had forgotten that. Dieter was there, as well, big and blond, arms folded, guarding the door.

Outside in TB2, two other medics were setting up some sort of temporary hospital area. I looked at Leon. I couldn’t leave. Had he forgotten?

No, of course he hadn’t.

Hunter began to unpack her kit. Helen knelt beside me. ‘My name is Dr Foster. I’m just going to take a look.’

I flinched. I couldn’t help it.

She carefully folded back the blanket. The dressing fell off by itself and we all stared at my arm.

No one spoke.

Helen broke the spell.

She smiled reassuringly at me. She was being kind. Now I knew I was in another world. Or dying. ‘It’s a bit of a mess, but we’ll get it cleaned up and make you feel more comfortable.’

I’d never heard her speak so quietly. She seemed very … restrained.

She turned to Hunter, issuing instructions, still in the same level tones. I searched for Leon, who stood nearby.

She stood up stiffly and moved towards Leon who drew closer to listen.

She belted him. She fetched him a wallop that I myself would have been proud of. He actually staggered.

‘Ow!’

She hit him again.

I tried to lift my head.

She was incandescent. She was absolutely furious. For one moment, she seemed to struggle for words. But only for a moment.

‘You imbecile! You cretinous, moronic imbecile! Of all the idiotic, half-witted, brainless, irresponsible … I used to think that apart from me, you were the only person in this entire establishment who had more than one brain cell. What the hell did you think you were playing at? Let me make it simple. I’m the doctor. You’re the engineer. I’m the one with all the years at medical school. You’re not. Do I ever swan down here to Hawking, rip the front off a console, and go at it with a 5lb lump hammer and a bent paperclip?’

Wisely, he made no attempt to reply, but she swept on, regardless.

‘No – I do not. Because I don’t know the first thing about electronics and you don’t know the first thing about medicine. Do you? Did you seriously think you could get away with surgery in this … this …?’ She waved an arm. ‘Look at the state of this pod. This place is Ground Zero for every infection in the universe. Did you think you could pick up a copy of
Surgery for Dummies
and blindly undertake what amounted to a major procedure? How stupid are you? Look what you’ve done. A tag is the size of a grain of rice, for God’s sake. Was it really necessary to open her arm from elbow to wrist?’

She had to stop for breath.

‘I couldn’t find it,’ he said, defensively, keeping his distance.

There was the same sort of pause you get before a major volcanic event. And I should know.

She struggled for calm, speaking with a restraint that was terrifying.

‘Of course you couldn’t bloody find it! Because it’s not bloody there! You operated on the wrong bloody arm!’

Her word reverberated round the tiny space. I made a huge effort, but there was no chance. Laughter bubbled inside me, as unstoppable as a greased elephant on a helter-skelter. I curled into a ball and couldn’t stop. It was so funny. His face. Her face. All that effort. All that pain. All that blood. And it was the wrong bloody arm!

I was still laughing uncontrollably when something cold slid into the back of my hand.

I awoke some time later, blinked a little and looked around me. I lay in a little pool of light. An oasis in the dark, echoing space that was TB2. As far as I could see, I was alone. I couldn’t see either Leon or his pod, but that didn’t mean they weren’t here somewhere. I hoped.

My right arm was hugely bandaged and resting on a pillow. The other arm had a tiny red mark on the inside, just below my elbow. I could barely see it. Actually, I could barely see anything. I floated, warm and comfortable on a pink, fluffy cloud of peace and security. There was no pain. This was more like it. Things were looking up. The complete absence of any sort of threat was a very welcome change.

There was also a complete absence of Leon. I had no idea what time it was. Or what day it was. Or even what year it was. Where was he? Surely it wouldn’t take that long to make the return jump to Pompeii, open the door, toss out a successfully removed tag, and jump back again. Minutes? Seconds? He must be here, somewhere.

Hard on that thought, I heard the ramp coming down. He was back.

I was quite unprepared for the great wave of – something – that left me breathless. I heard Dr Foster say, ‘Just a few minutes,’ and then he stepped into my little pool of light.

At some point, he’d had a shower, shit, and shave, and picked up some clean clothes, so he looked reasonably presentable. And exhausted.

We stared at each other. I remembered my instructions and didn’t say a word. Which was good, because I couldn’t think of anything to say, anyway. I tried to smile, but it was a very poor effort. His was even worse.

He turned abruptly, wandering aimlessly around the pod before finally fetching up at the foot of my bed, picking up Helen’s scratchpad and pretending to read her notes.

Finally, he said, still not looking at me, ‘I thought I’d lost you. Again.’

I said nothing.

‘Helen says you’ll be up and about soon. At the moment, you’re stuffed full of some very serious medication.’

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me.

He finally looked up. I noticed his burns were healing. At some point Helen had renewed his plastic.

‘The tag is gone. As is Pompeii. Dieter and I patched my pod as best we could, and I jumped back. There were bodies everywhere. The heat was unbearable. The mountain was still belching muck into the atmosphere. I threw the tag out into the street and it was covered almost immediately. I don’t know if the Time Police were still there. I don’t know if they would have been able to pick up the signal, but your plan will still hold. They tracked you there. They saw you there. There was a violent explosion. Your signal was gone. Whether they believe you’re dead or not, they can’t track you any longer. No one knows you’re here but the medical staff, Dieter, and Dr Bairstow. You have your life back.’

Yes, I did. And what was I going to do with it?

I held out the one hand that still worked and he came and sat on the bed. It was nice to have him so close again.

‘Anyway, what I wanted to say, Max, is that you’re safe now. They don’t know you’re here. In a day or two, we can go wherever we like.’

He smiled, and his was as wobbly as mine. ‘It was quite a ride, wasn’t it? Just like old times.’

I nodded. Just like old times.

‘I wanted to say … I know we haven’t known each other long and we agreed to take things very slowly … but I wanted to say …’

God, he was hopeless.

I lifted his hand to my cheek and held it there and it was almost too much for both of us.

‘Lucy …’

He stroked my cheek and, leaning forward, kissed me gently.

My world rocked. I hoped it wasn’t anything to do with the medication.

‘I have a lot to say to you, but all that’s for later. The main thing is that you’re safe now and they will never find you again.’

The ramp came down. Fast. I heard running footsteps. Dr Foster was pushed backwards into the TB2. Somewhere, I could hear Hunter shouting.

Two black-clad figures strode forwards, their weapons at shoulder height, covering the pod.

Hunter was hustled in, struggling in the grip of another one. Even as I looked, she kicked out viciously. He yelped and backhanded her to the ground. She scrambled to her feet, furious and ready to tear him apart. He pulled a pistol, pushed her against the wall, and held it to one eye. The message was unmistakable.

Silence fell. I could hear her panting for breath. Even Helen had stopped shouting. For a few seconds, no one moved at all and then I could hear footsteps coming up the ramp.

Another black figure walked slowly into the pod and looked around him.

Dr Foster surged forwards and was immediately restrained. That didn’t stop her. ‘I protest. This is an emergency medical area. There are sick people here. Dr Bairstow –’

‘Is under arrest,’ he said quietly. ‘St Mary’s is under my jurisdiction now.’

His gaze travelled around the pod.

‘A merry dance,’ he said. ‘But I have you at last.’

I stiffened, ready to resist to the best of my ability. I was tethered to the bed by tubes, wires, and other medical stuff. Even so, I wasn’t going to go quietly.

Leon jumped to his feet, ready to defend me but we’d got it all wrong. It wasn’t me they wanted.

Words fell into the silence.

‘Leon Farrell, you are under arrest for …’

He got no further.

Leon took three long strides across the pod, shouted, ‘Door’, and literally vanished.

I couldn’t help myself. I don’t know what sort of weapons they were wielding, but very little hardware responds well to having a jug of water thrown at it. Especially if you follow up with the jug itself. It only bounced harmlessly off his helmet, but it gave Leon a valuable second or two. I felt the pressure change as his pod jumped.

Given their current record, I was surprised they didn’t shoot me where I lay.

Both Dr Foster and Nurse Hunter tore free of their captors and literally hurled themselves between them and me. For a second or so, it all hung in the balance, but the Time Police had more important things to do.

The officer who had tried to arrest Leon barked a series of orders into some sort of com device. His men scattered. I could hear running footsteps and then everything went very quiet. I could hear him breathing. He stared at me. For a very long time. I braced myself for what was to come. His com squawked and after a long moment, he strode from the pod.

I realised I’d been holding my breath.

They searched all night for Leon, ransacking St Mary’s from top to bottom. Initially, I wondered why, but when three guards turned up, two outside and one inside, I realised they expected him to come back for me. I was a hostage.

Obviously, they didn’t find him. I would have been surprised if they had. Even if he had still been here – which he wasn’t – St Mary’s would have placed every obstacle possible in the path of his pursuers. Doors would have been inadvertently locked. No one would know the keypad combinations. People would have blocked corridors and been slow to move out of the way.

I lay all night, listening to shouted instructions up and down the building and then outside in the grounds. Dawn came and they hadn’t found him. Of course they hadn’t. He was long gone and they had no way of tracking him. They’d never catch him now. I wondered where he would go.