Send Simon Savage #1 (2 page)

T
he sun was bright and the sea was blue. Set after set of waves rolled and crashed onto Bondi Beach. Out from the shore, a burst of spray slapped Simon’s face as he moved his board into the line-up, waiting to catch the perfect peak.

At last a big wave rose, spitting chunks of white foam. Simon turned to go with it. He kicked his legs and paddled hard, clawing through the water until he caught the crest.

Simon stayed in the moment, working the wave for all it was worth until it broke. A massive wall of water crashed down on him, tearing the leash from his board.

‘He’s gone!’

From the southern cliff overlooking the beach, Cutler kept his binoculars focused on the foaming water.

Anderson pointed. ‘There—he’s up now!’

Simon’s dark head bobbed in the surf, close to shore.

‘He’s game,’ Cutler said. ‘Saw the big wave and went for it.’

‘And fit,’ the other man added. ‘Do you think he’s up to the job?’

Cutler nodded. ‘Time to visit the family again.’

Simon dug into the dirt and tipped a shovel-load of earth to the side of the hole. ‘That should be deep enough.’

‘I’m not sure I want to do this today,’ Glenda said, as she placed a pot plant on the ground by the front fence. ‘Maybe we can do it when Lil gets home from her drama camp.’

‘She’s away for a week!’ Simon said. ‘I thought we said we’d finish jobs around the house. Stuff left over … for when Dad comes back.’

‘Yes, I know we did,’ she said. ‘But it’s been four weeks, Simon.’

‘This is a coffee plant,’ Simon went on. ‘Arabica something. The one Dad grew from a seed. Dad wants to grow it here, in the full sun. So he can make his own coffee.’

‘It’ll be a long time before we get a cup of coffee from this,’ Glenda said, with a weak smile.

‘If we don’t plant it out, it’ll … die.’

Without thinking, he had said
the word
. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled.

‘It’s all right,’ Glenda replied. ‘It’s something we have to think about.’ She dragged the pot closer. ‘Okay, let’s do it.’

‘Mum? We haven’t talked about Dad much,’ Simon said.

‘No.’

‘Did Dad … ever say he was unhappy?’ Simon groped for the right words. ‘Did he say that he didn’t want to be with us?’

Glenda picked a worm out of the hole and dropped it further along the garden bed. She shook her head. ‘But I think he’d been worried about something. For a long time.’

‘About his work?’

‘He never said what, exactly. He always kept those things to himself.’ She lowered the plant into the hole. ‘And then there were those times he went away. You know, those business trips he went on last year. Just going. Without saying where.’

‘Lil and me thought you and Dad might be busting up,’ Simon said. ‘But then Dad would come back and things would be sort of normal again.’

Glenda touched his arm. ‘Your father and I weren’t breaking up.’

‘But he was feeling bad,’ Simon said, ‘about something.’

Glenda sighed. ‘I guess we’ll never know what.’

Simon looked up as a car door slammed in the street. A man stood by the car. It was Cutler. He nodded to Simon.

‘Morning!’ Cutler called out.

Simon stood up and moved to stand in front of his mother.

Cutler came up to the gate. ‘I think that I should introduce myself properly this time. I’m Captain Rex Cutler.’

‘You said you were from the government,’ Simon said.

Cutler nodded towards the house. ‘Perhaps we could have a chat inside?’

Simon didn’t move.

‘It does have something to do with your father,’ Cutler added.

‘It’s all right, Simon,’ Glenda said. ‘It could be important. I was going to make a drink, anyway. Please, Captain, come inside.’

Over a cup of tea at the dining table, Simon listened as Cutler explained that he was one of a select group who had known Hale Savage well, and had worked with him on several top-secret research and development projects.

‘Top secret?’ Simon asked. ‘Dad never talked about that.’

Glenda shook her head. ‘He never even hinted at anything like that.’

‘That’s because he wasn’t allowed to,’ Cutler replied. ‘And that’s why we had to visit your house so quickly … after he was gone. In case he had left any classified information in his office.’

‘Classified,’ Simon muttered. ‘I never knew his work was that important.’

Cutler stirred his tea. ‘What I’m about to tell you is also classified, but I want to bring you into my confidence. I’ve come to see you today because I want you to know who I really work for, and what we might be able to do for you.’ Cutler hesitated. ‘Though I should warn you, this is a conversation I will deny ever took place.’

Simon tried to catch his mother’s eye. He didn’t know what to make of this man.

But Glenda nodded. She was giving Cutler the benefit of the doubt.

‘I work for an international organisation called the Time Bureau,’ Cutler said. ‘You won’t find us in the phone book. And we don’t have a website——’

‘Do you mean atomic clocks?’ Simon interrupted. ‘Dad was in nuclear research, wasn’t he?’

‘That’s what I understood,’ Glenda said.

‘I’m afraid that was a cover story,’ Cutler said. ‘His field of research was more complex than that. It involved very advanced technology.’

Glenda looked warily at Cutler. ‘So what do you want? Why do you want to talk with us?’

‘Well, Mrs Savage, we know you’re short of money.’

‘You’ve been spying on us!’ Simon said.

Cutler frowned. ‘With the best of intentions.’

‘I don’t like this at all!’ Glenda said.

‘Mum’s right. What do you want?’

Cutler chose his words carefully. ‘Mrs Savage, the Time Bureau feels a responsibility towards your family. Both to you and your children.’

Glenda frowned. ‘Are you saying you accept responsibility for my husband’s disappearance?’

‘No. That was totally unexpected from our point of view,’ Cutler replied. ‘But we do feel that Hale’s disappearance might have had something to do with the pressures of his work.’

‘You know that for sure?’ Simon asked.

‘No,’ Cutler said. ‘But, as I say, we feel partly responsible for the difficulties you’re now having in making ends meet. He did leave you in an awkward financial situation.’

Glenda nodded. ‘The house is heavily mortgaged. There’s almost nothing left in my bank account.’

Simon turned to her. ‘Is this true, Mum?’

‘Unfortunately, yes. We’re nearly broke,’ she replied. ‘I was planning to look for a job.’

‘This is where we would like to help,’ Cutler said. ‘Mrs Savage, I understand your parents live in England. In Bristol?’

‘That’s right,’ Glenda replied. ‘My mother and father moved to Australia when I was young. They lived here for many years. They decided to go back to England about eighteen months ago.’

‘Along with Simon and Lily, they are your closest family now,’ Cutler stated.

Glenda nodded.

‘What are you getting at?’ Simon asked.

‘I’ll come to that in a moment,’ Cutler replied. ‘But first, I should inform you both that the Time Bureau will be holding an official enquiry into Hale’s disappearance. This will be secret and out of the public eye. But, Mrs Savage, as the Bureau is based in England, it might be useful for you to be close by while we carry out this investigation.’

Glenda blinked. ‘You want us to go over there?’

‘At the Bureau’s expense,’ Cutler said. ‘And, as this investigation will take some time, we would like to offer to send Lily and Simon to good schools. In addition, we’ll give you a secure job in the Civil Service, a house, free moving costs, a car.’

Glenda looked thoughtful. ‘You said
schools
. You mean different schools for my kids?’

‘Yes,’ Cutler said. ‘There’s a top-class day school in Bristol that would suit your daughter perfectly. It has a strong music and drama curriculum. Close to your family, too, if you chose to live there.’ He looked at Simon. ‘But for your son, we would suggest an elite boarding school in the Sussex Downs.’

‘You’re kidding!’ Simon protested. ‘I’m not going to some posh school!’

‘It’s more than that,’ Cutler said. ‘It’s a place your father visited many times. It has first-rate scientific research facilities that he helped to develop.’

‘I’m not that hot on science,’ Simon said. ‘Why would I want to go there?’

‘You’ll get a first-class education at our expense,’ Cutler went on. ‘And there are good sporting facilities. We put a lot of emphasis on fitness and personal training.’

Simon shrugged.

‘My husband never mentioned a connection with any school,’ Glenda said. She thought for a moment. ‘Captain, are you serious about this?’

‘I’m dead serious,’ Cutler said. ‘Come to England, Mrs Savage. Have a look for yourself. Then, if you’re satisfied that what I am offering is above board——’

‘Why are you being so generous?’ Simon asked.

‘Well, as I said, your father did a lot of work with the Time Bureau,’ Cutler replied. ‘Unique research with far-reaching effects for the future of humanity. We feel a big debt to him. You could say it’s a way of repaying him for his efforts, by helping you and your family.’

‘We appreciate your offer, but I’m sorry, Captain.’ Glenda stood up. ‘You seem dedicated, and obviously believe in what you’re doing. But … well, for us, it’s out of the question.’

She moved down the hallway to the front door. Cutler rose from the table and followed her.

‘My family’s gone through a lot in the last month,’ Glenda went on, ‘and I can’t see us packing up, pulling up our roots. I can’t see us moving to another country.’

‘I’d like you to reconsider …’ Cutler said.

‘Mum, can I talk to you?’ Simon said. He came up to Glenda and led her onto the front porch, out of Cutler’s earshot. ‘We can’t say no.’

Glenda almost laughed. She hadn’t laughed for weeks. ‘Simon, this man wants us to leave everything. Send you and Lil to schools in another country. What are you talking about?’

‘But Cutler’s involved with this school they want to send me to,’ Simon replied. ‘He said Dad’s work was connected with it, too. And they’re going to investigate his disappearance. Maybe, if we’re over there, we can find out what happened to Dad.’

Glenda frowned. ‘Do you really want to know?’

‘We can’t live the rest of our lives just wondering.’ Simon touched her arm. ‘You said earlier, we might never know. But maybe we can find out
why
Dad died!’

3

Three months later, England

‘T
his is why you are at this school,’ Captain Cutler said. He swept his arm to indicate what lay before them.

Simon stepped off the metal staircase into a section of a vast circular tunnel. Ahead of them was what appeared to be a long, metal-plated pipeline, about a metre in diameter. It followed the curve of the tunnel in both directions and disappeared into darkness.

Simon looked back up the staircase. Fifteen minutes earlier, at ground level, they had walked through a hidden entrance in the side of a hill, and then through scores of rooms and chambers.

Cutler had told him these were the secret headquarters of the Time Bureau. Apparently, the Bureau employed about five hundred people, some of whom lived in the nearby towns, without their neighbours knowing their true jobs or identities. Simon hadn’t been told the reason for all the secrecy.