The Deadly Game (5 page)

But that didn’t mean they hadn’t been dug up. He knew that Pierce Randall had already got at least one of the books, and his own Department of Science — or, rather, Gareth’s secret service sub-section — had also got some of the books hidden away far from public gaze in the government archives. Or, perhaps, kept in some secret research establishments, where the sciences in the books were being tested.

Jake opened the box file where he kept Lauren’s notes, and started to flick through them until he came to her ‘List of possible hiding places’. He concentrated on those in the Glastonbury area, and soon had twelve named sites highlighted in yellow. He was just marking a thirteenth, when his phone rang.

‘Jake Wells,’ he said.

‘Stop searching for the books.’

The voice was a man’s, speaking low. It sounded as if it was muffled in some way, to stop it from being recognised.

‘Excuse me?’ said Jake, playing for time.

There was the briefest of pauses, then the voice said menacingly: ‘Don’t play games, Mr Wells. The Malichea books. Stop searching for them, or you will find yourself in serious trouble.
Very
serious trouble.’

‘Is this a threat?’ asked Jake, lightly, doing his best to sound casual.

‘Yes it is,’ said the voice, sounding even more menacing. ‘You are being watched. If you don’t stop looking for the books, you will be dealt with. People have died trying to find these books. You don’t want yours to be the next death.’

Then all Jake could hear was the tone; the caller had hung up.

Immediately, Jake dialled 1471, but just got the time the call had been made, with the addition: ‘The caller withheld their number.’

Yes, of course he did, thought Jake.

Who had it been? Gareth, possibly, or one of his minions. But why do this, when Gareth had already warned him off face to face?

The Watchers, possibly. The secret organisation dedicated to protecting the hidden books. But the Watchers didn’t go in for violence. At least, not as far as he could make out. Not that this had been
actual
violence, just the threat of it.
You don’t want yours to be the next death
. Very crude. But effective. Jake had already had experience of how ruthless the people in the whole Malichea business could be. This death threat may have just been a bluff, or it could be the real thing. But one thing Jake was sure: if finding one of the books could bring Lauren and he back together, then he’d take that chance.

He looked at his watch. It was just gone ten o’clock. In less than an hour he’d be talking to Lauren again, seeing her. Especially now he had A Plan. He switched on his computer and checked his emails, his heart lifting as he saw there was one from Lauren among all the usual spam.

He opened the email from Lauren, and felt a jolt of disappointment as he read it.
Hey Jake, Can’t do Skype today/tonight because I’ve got to go into the office for a meeting. In fact, it looks as if I’m going to be in meetings every day this week, because there’s a big Antarctic research expedition about to happen that we’re involved in. And — with the twelve-hour time difference between us — the best time will be after I’ve finished work at the end of the week. I suggest this Friday at 8 p.m. (when it will be 8 o’clock on Saturday morning for you). Will that be OK? Or is that too early for you? We can make it later — 9 a.m. or 10 a.m.? Miss you lots, S xx
.

Although he felt the disappointment of not seeing Lauren that night, even though it was only on a computer screen, he still felt a sense of elation and excitement about what he was planning to do: go to Glastonbury and find one of the hidden books. OK, it was a bit of a wild shot, very chancy, but he wanted to tell her and share that hope with her, even though he knew that if he attempted to, their systems would shut down — email, phone call, Skype, whatever he used. It was so frustrating! If only he could find a way.

He clicked ‘reply’ and began to type:

‘Hiya Sam, Skype this Friday/Saturday will be great — I love the fact that we can actually see one another, and know you’re really there, and not just some figment of my imagination at the end of a keyboard.

Then a thought struck him. Maybe there was a way round the bar on them. And this was a good time to test how far the censoring system worked. He added:
8 at night your time, 8 in the morning mine, will be great, as this Saturday I’m off to do some research into King Arthur and the Holy Grail
.

As he typed the words, he felt his chest tighten with nervous apprehension, waiting for his system to shut down . . . but it stayed connected. So far so good. Then, to test it further, he typed in,
At Glastonbury
.

His whole body tensed, waiting for the familiar ‘click’ and his screen to go blank . . . but the connection stayed up! It had worked! Obviously, Glastonbury was seen as ‘safe’ when it was linked to King Arthur and the Holy Grail. Computer says Yes.

He smiled to himself as he finished typing the rest of his message.
Love you, Jake xx

Chapter 7

Jake left his small block of flats the next morning filled with a new sense of determination and purpose. He was going to Glastonbury. He would find one of the buried books. He’d bring Lauren back to England. He was just thinking these thoughts as the driver’s door of the parked car he was passing jerked open, and a tall, tough-looking man in a dark suit got out of the car and stood directly in his path.

‘Get into the car, please,’ he said.

‘What?’ Jake said, bewildered.

Although the man was smartly dressed, there was no mistaking the air of menace about him. Military type, thought Jake hurriedly. Special forces.

‘Into the car, please,’ repeated the man, and he moved a step closer to Jake, his hands clenching and unclenching as if he was about to grab him. Jake stepped back, putting his hands up to defend himself, even though he knew this man could break him in half.

The rear door of the car swung open, nearly hitting Jake, and a cool calm voice said: ‘That won’t be necessary, Edward.’ Then, in a friendly tone, the voice added: ‘I’m here to offer you a lift to work, Jake.’

Jake peered into the back of the large expensive-looking car. Alex Munro, chief of the London office of Pierce Randall, beamed back at him.

‘No thank you,’ said Jake coldly. ‘I think I’d rather take my chances on the buses.’

Munro sighed.

‘Please, Jake. At the moment this is a genuine friendly gesture.’

Despite the smile on Munro’s voice, and the lightness of tone, there was no mistaking the threat, in his ‘at the moment’. Jake looked at the tall, hard-looking man, Edward, who was still standing mutely just within grabbing distance of Jake, poised to pounce if necessary.

‘Come on, Jake,’ said Munro. ‘The buses are so unreliable and crowded these days.’

Jake hesitated, then climbed into the back of the car. Edward shut the rear door behind him, and then got into the front, behind the steering wheel. There was a glass partition between Jake and Munro, and Edward.

‘Relax, Jake.’ Munro smiled. ‘I really am just going to give you a lift to your office.’ He indicated a small cupboard set into the front of the luxurious rear compartment. ‘Can I offer you anything? Tea? Coffee? Juice?’

Jake shook his head.

‘No thank you,’ he said coldly.

The car started up and moved off.

‘So,’ said Jake. ‘What’s so important that it brings the head of the most powerful law firm in Europe to my door?’

‘The most powerful law firm in the
world
,’ Munro corrected him.

And that was no exaggeration, reflected Jake. Pierce Randall had entered his life after he and Lauren had recovered one of the hidden books. Jake had never been sure how much of his troubles since had been because of Pierce Randall and the power they exerted.

On the surface, they were one of the most respectable and prestigious law firms ever, with branches all over the world. Their clients included most of the top companies and the most powerful governments. But there was another side to their operation, a darker side. Their client list also included international organised crime, as well as dictators and tyrants from some of the worst and most dangerous countries in the world. And, when secret deals were done between the respectable multinational companies and governments, and organised crime or a dubious tyrant, Pierce Randall would be the intermediary, making sure the deals were done with no fuss and no publicity, and the huge financial rewards allocated discreetly, with no trace.

Alex Munro was Head of Operations in Pierce Randall’s London office, which was why Jake was stunned to see him out here, making this visit in person. When Jake had first met Munro, Munro had persuaded Jake that Pierce Randall wanted to find the hidden books of the Order of Malichea for altruistic purposes; to get the scientific information they contained out into the general arena, to help people, to use the new discoveries to save lives. Munro had been very plausible. It was only later that Jake had discovered the real reason that Pierce Randall wanted the hidden books: in two words, power and money. As Jake had told Michelle, if one of the books contained a cure for a previously untreatable terminal illness, whoever found that information and patented it would have a licence to print money. And the weapons potential of some of the sciences that were rumoured to be hidden would give dictators and terrorists power that was too hideous to consider.

Munro settled back into the luxurious leather seats and looked at Jake.

‘You’re suspicious of us, Jake, but you have no reason to be. We’re after the same thing: the secret library.’

‘But for different reasons,’ said Jake. ‘I want it to help the world. You want it to keep it hidden and make money from it.’

Munro sighed and smiled.

‘You sound just like your friend, Ms Graham,’ he said. ‘How is she, by the way? I understand the government shipped her off somewhere, with a new identity. That must be very upsetting for you, to be parted from her in this way.’

He knows, thought Jake. He knows where Lauren is. Pierce Randall know everything. Except where the hidden books are.

Jake kept silent, just looked out through the darkened windows at the streets outside. Munro couldn’t be trusted. Whatever he was here to offer was suspect. But why was he here?

As if reading Jake’s thoughts, Munro said: ‘We can help you get Ms Graham back.’

Jake swung round towards him, suspicious, but alert.

‘She’s in exile,’ he said. ‘The government say she can’t return for ten years. Maybe more.’

Munro smiled.

‘Ah,
governments
,’ he said, with a sarcastic tone. ‘Governments come and go. Government ministers change at an almost daily rate. We have . . .
friends
in high places. And, we are used to doing deals at the very top level, as I’m sure you are aware.’

‘Why me?’ asked Jake. ‘You’ve got a big organisation. You can find them yourself. You’ve already got some of them.’

‘Some,’ admitted Munro. ‘But you have something that our own operatives don’t have, Jake. Passion. Desperation. We
want
to find these books. You
need
to find them, or at least one, to get your Ms Graham released from exile. Publicise it. Tell the world about it. Get the story about the Order of Malichea out into the open.’

He’s been talking to Michelle, Jake realised, as he heard his own words to Michelle echoed back at him. And then he remembered that he hadn’t told Michelle
why
he wanted to get the story about the books into the public domain, just that the story needed to be out there. So maybe Munro hadn’t talked to Michelle after all. It was just Munro, keeping his finger firmly on the pulse of anything to do with Malichea.

‘I’m sure that you will find a book. Maybe more than one. The deal I’m offering you is that you can keep one to do all the publicity you want, but we share it. You keep the actual book, we keep the rights to the information inside it.’

‘To sell it,’ said Jake.

‘We already have clients ready to buy the appropriate technology.’ Munro smiled. Again. ‘And what is wrong with that? A book has a cure for illness, and a drug company puts that into practice and gets it out into the wide world. Millions of lives saved. Another book might have information about anti-gravity. An aerospace company uses that information to make safer planes. Again, millions of lives saved, the world becomes a better place.’

‘Or one book contains previously undiscovered weapons technology and you sell it to a bunch of terrorists or criminals, who then use it to kill millions.’

Munro shrugged.

‘We’re talking morality,’ he said. ‘One person’s life-saver is another person’s destruction. What I’m offering you is an opportunity to get back with your friend.’

Jake fell silent, weighing up Munro’s offer. There was no doubt in his mind that Munro could fix it and get him reunited with Lauren. Maybe not necessarily in England, but that didn’t matter to Jake. He didn’t have any family to miss, no one he was close to, except Lauren. Anywhere in the world would do, as long as he and Lauren were together again. But it was a big price to pay, and he wasn’t sure if Lauren would ever forgive him if she found out that he’d passed one of the books to Pierce Randall, and the science in it had been used for evil purposes.