The Monster Within (8 page)

Jack swallowed. ‘We don't know anything about… X-29. We would tell you if we did.'

‘You will tell me what you know or you will be sorry.'

‘We don't know anything,' Scarlet said, her voice cracking with fear. ‘Release us
or—'

The man strode towards Scarlet and gripped a handful of her hair. She cried out.

‘Let her go!' Jack yelled, struggling against the handcuffs. ‘We don't know anything!'

Carlos waved the knife near Scarlet's face. ‘Your
little girlfriend is very pretty,'
he said. ‘It would be a pity to ruin her looks.'

‘Leave her alone!' Jack cried. ‘I'll kill you if you harm her!'

The man shifted the knife in his hand and sliced upwards. An instant later Carlos
had a handful of Scarlet's red hair in his hand. He dropped it to the ground and
Scarlet let out a sob.

‘Such beautiful hair,' Carlos said. ‘It must have taken years to grow.'

He grabbed another handful and sawed through.

Jack swore at the man, but was completely ignored as another bunch of hair was severed.
Within seconds, piles of her hair lay everywhere.

‘Where is X-29?' Carlos asked again.

‘We don't know!' Scarlet shouted through angry tears.

‘You think because you are children we will not hurt you? X-29 will bring unlimited
riches. A man could live forever on such money. A home in the best suburb. Servants
at his feet. A beautiful wife. Hurting a pair of English children is a small price
to pay for a lifetime of luxury.'

He marched over to Jack, bringing the knife dangerously close to his face. ‘I have
had to live for many years with only one eye,' he growled. ‘It is sometimes most
difficult. Imagine what it would be like to lose both eyes.'

A gunshot rang out. Then another.

‘Que?'
Carlos said, drawing back from Jack.
‘Qué es esto?'

The door flew open and John Fleming appeared. ‘Drop the knife!' he ordered.

Carlos raised the shining blade. The gun fired. Taking a single, faltering step,
Carlos grunted and dropped the weapon to the floor, and then collapsed. Fleming went
to one of the man's pockets, removed a set of keys and had Jack and Scarlet free
in seconds.

‘I'm sorry I took so long,' he said. ‘I was following in my car, but lost sight of
you.'

‘The other men—' Jack started.

‘Dead, but more will come. We've got to get out of here.'

Scarlet gingerly felt her ragged hairline. ‘That's the worst haircut I've ever had,'
she said, wiping tears from her face. ‘I don't know what my hairdresser, Mrs Betts,
will say when she sees it.'

‘You're alive,' Jack said. ‘That's the main thing.'

Keeping them close, Fleming led Jack and Scarlet from the room and through to the
next chamber, where Carlos' companions lay motionless on the ground. Jack and Scarlet
followed Fleming outside. The evening air was cold, but sweet as honey to Jack.

‘We're free,' he said to Fleming. ‘Thanks to you.'

‘That's my job.' He led them over to a small steamcar, chugging at the side of the
road. ‘Let's get out of here.' They piled into the front seat of the car and took
off. ‘Mr Doyle is worried sick about you.'

‘Where is he?' Jack asked.

‘Back at the hotel.'

Jack glanced back at the factory. No-one was following. He cast a look at Scarlet's
hair. ‘It doesn't look too bad,' he said, tactfully.

‘I'm sure it looks awful. Shame I couldn't take my hair with me to stick back on.'

Jack thought back to that terrible room, remembering Fleming appearing in the doorway.
He should have felt elated—they were safe—but an odd sensation was slithering about
in the pit of his stomach.

‘What did those men want to know?' Fleming asked.

‘They were asking us about something called X-29,' Scarlet replied.

‘X-29? What is it?

‘We don't know. They wouldn't believe us.'

‘You must have some idea or Carlos wouldn't have kidnapped you.'

Scarlet shrugged. ‘We've never heard of it, but he mentioned a lab,' she said. ‘Maybe
it's some kind of potion.'

Fleming was weaving through the darkened streets. This dilapidated part of town seemed
to be going on forever. ‘Has Mr Doyle mentioned it to you?' he asked. ‘He must have
said something.'

‘He hasn't,' Jack said. ‘Who were those men? Why did they kidnap us?'

‘I believe they are part of an organisation called Domina, an illegal crime syndicate
that specialises in buying new technologies and selling them to the highest bidder.'

‘And X-29 is one of these new technologies?'

‘It would seem so.' He paused. ‘If you know something about it, you must tell me
now.'

Jack's stomach twisted. Scarlet was already repeating that she knew nothing, but
her voice was fading to silence.

‘I believe you,' Fleming said, at last.

‘You knew his name was Carlos,' Jack murmured.

Fleming turned the vehicle down another darkened alley with old factories lining
both sides. ‘What?' he said.

‘How did you know his name was Carlos?'

‘You told me his name.'

‘No, we didn't.'

John Fleming nodded. ‘That's very quick of you,' he said. ‘Carlos
is
known to MI5.
I suspected he was responsible for your kidnapping.'

‘How did you know where to find the key to the handcuffs?' Jack asked.

Fleming said nothing. He accelerated towards a group of men assembled under a streetlight.
Scarlet cried out. They were the same men Fleming had supposedly shot back at the
factory.

‘Those were blanks,' Fleming said, producing his weapon. ‘But these are not. Now
we know that you and Ignatius Doyle know nothing about X-29, I believe we can dispose
of you. Some kind of accident will do.'

Jack threw himself across the seat, grabbing the gun.

Bang!

The windscreen shattered as the car veered across the road, sideswiping a building.
The car careened into
the three men at the corner, knocking them into the air like
they were rag dolls.

Fleming swore, reaching into his jacket as they skidded to a halt.

Scarlet screamed, grabbing her leg. Fleming had jammed a needle into her.

‘Run!' she told Jack, her eyes rolling up into her head. ‘You've got to…'

But Fleming had now stuck the syringe into Jack's arm. Within seconds the world had
turned grey and then black.

CHAPTER TEN

Jack dreamt he was on a ship, the deck moving under him, gently rolling to one side
and then the other. The ocean was calm, but in the distance he saw black, bulbous
clouds. He needed to turn the ship away, but the steering wheel did nothing: the
ship continued towards the oncoming storm, the waves building. One broke over the
deck, drenching his face.

He had to get off this ship. But where was Scarlet? She had been here too. He frantically
searched the deck. She can't have fallen overboard. Where was she? Where—

Another burst of spray struck his face. Choking, he blinked his eyes and jolted upright
to see Scarlet peering down at him. She held a bucket of water.

‘Wake up!' she yelled. ‘We're going to crash!'

‘What? Is it a reef? An island—'

‘An island?' She dragged him to his feet. ‘We're on an airship! And we're out of
control!'

What?

He took in his surroundings. They
were
on an airship, high above the ground. It was
a small vessel, some sort of taxi. Outside, the sky was dark. Lightning flashed at
the windows.

‘How did we get here?' Jack asked.

‘Don't you remember? Fleming knocked us out with some kind of drug.'

It all came flooding back.

Jack pushed past Scarlet. A kerosene lamp illuminated the interior, a passenger
area the same size as a rowboat. The bridge was smaller, the engine and coal skip
taking up half the space. The control panel at the front was smashed beyond repair,
the steering wheel missing.

‘Why didn't they just kill us?' Jack asked.

‘An accident in a foreign country would make us look like two foolish kids on a lark.'

‘I wish.'

Jack peered into the gap in the panel where the steering wheel used to connect. ‘If
only we could stick something in there,' he said.

‘There was a Brinkie Buckeridge book where she used the heel of her shoe to steer
a car.' Scarlet peered at her flat heel in dismay. ‘Brinkie must have worn stilettos.'

Lightning flashed again and Jack caught sight of an enormous bulk on the landscape.

‘What's that?' he asked.

‘What's what?'

Lightning illuminated the scene again, like the flash of a photographer's lamp, and
they recoiled.

‘It's a mountain,' Scarlet said. ‘And we're heading straight for it!'

‘We've got to turn around.'

They searched, but found nothing that could help to steer. By accident or design,
there were no tools onboard. If they had water, they could try putting out the fire,
but it looked like Scarlet had used the meagre amount to wake him.

Jack looked through the rear window. The airship's propulsion jets jutted from under
the cabin.

‘Hand me that lamp,' he said.

‘What are you going to do?'

Jack pulled back the carpet, revealing a panel beneath. He opened it to find two
propulsion pipes. ‘Piercing one of these would release pressure from one side, giving
the other side more power.'

‘Meaning we could turn the ship?'

‘In a rough fashion. There's only one problem.' Jack tapped the hot pipe. ‘There's
no way to break through this.'

Lightning flashed again. ‘Jack!' Scarlet said, staring out the window. ‘That mountain's
right in front of us. We'll be on it in a minute!'

‘We need to turn to portside.'

‘Wouldn't turning left be more sensible?'

‘Portside is left!'

The mountain filled the front window. Jack looked around desperately. They couldn't
turn the ship, but if they could increase the drag on one side…

‘Wait!' he said. ‘The windows. Breaking the windows should swing us around.'

He looked about for something to smash the glass. The seats in the back were set
into the floor. There was nothing to use as a weapon. Except—

The bucket!

Snatching it up, he slammed it against the glass. Once. Twice. It cracked, and air
poured into the cabin. The airship swung wildly, throwing Jack and Scarlet off balance.

Bazookas!
Jack thought.
That's done it!

They had missed the mountain, but another was now looming on their left.

‘We need to land,' Scarlet said.

‘Really? I thought we might have a little party—'

‘Don't be silly!' Scarlet peered upwards. ‘If we could pierce the balloon, we would
slowly descend.'

‘Or drop like a rock.'

‘I'm not suggesting we pulverise the bag, just punch a small hole in it.'

Jack felt his pockets. ‘I don't have anything I can use,' he said. ‘If only Mr Doyle
would have let me carry that knife—'

‘Then you would have cut your hand off,' she said. ‘I have an idea. This worked in
one of the Brinkie Buckeridge books.'

‘Not Bubblehead now!' Jack cried.

‘This will work! Now turn and avert your eyes.'

‘What?'

‘Turn around!'

Jack did as he was told. He heard some ripping and a satisfied grunt from Scarlet.

‘You may turn back around.'

She now had a long white bone in her hand. ‘It's from my corset,' she said. ‘The
end should be sharp enough to pierce the balloon.'

‘As long as we can reach it.'

A wild wind was still driving through the broken window. Jack knocked away the jagged
glass around the edges. Then he climbed up on the console and stuck his head out.
Stray drops of rain whipped against his face. The winds were gale force. He wasn't
looking forward to this. ‘Hang on to my feet.'

Climbing through the gap, he gripped the frame and steadied himself on the outside
of the gondola. The balloon was only a few feet above his head. Reaching up with
the corset bone, he stabbed at the balloon. Missed. Stabbed again. The bone bounced
harmlessly off the fabric.

Come on
, he thought.
Break! Break!

The next time he struck, it cut through the fabric and hydrogen started to escape.

Yes!

The airship bucked as another blast of wind struck its starboard side. Jack carefully
reached for the window. The rain was falling harder now. At least the gas would slowly
leak from the balloon, causing them to gradually drop from the sky. As long as they
didn't crash into anything in the meantime—

Jack slipped, skidding down on one knee. Scarlet screamed.

He tried grabbing the window frame, but missed, now slipping sideways. His head crashed
into another window, and cracked it. His hands raked the outside of the ship, trying
to grab hold of something.

Scarlet, holding onto his legs, dragged him back through the window and they fell
in a heap on the floor.

‘Well done,' Scarlet congratulated him. ‘Next time I'll tell you how Brinkie did
it in
The Adventure of the Flying Steamtruck
.'

‘I can hardly wait.'

Scarlet's eyes widened. ‘Look out!'

Jack turned as lightning illuminated the landscape. They were in a valley, filled
with rock and sand. A desert. They had descended rapidly and were about to—

Crash!

They were thrown sideways. The airship lifted off again, the wind pulling it along
the ground. The firebox flew open, sending burning coals everywhere.