The Promised One (24 page)

‘….and if you have just joined us,’
the commentator was saying,
‘we are still reporting on one of the most bizarre events
ever to have taken place in the long history of the City. Traffic is at a standstill and unconfirmed reports say that this is due to a pack of dogs blocking Old Broad Street; a pack fiercely resisting all attempts to interfere with them. It is impossible to reach the scene by road and our roving helicopter cannot approach because, by an extraordinary coincidence, large flocks of pigeons are wheeling over the area in behaviour patterns that our ornithological experts are at a loss to explain. It is, in fact, only by the greatest good fortune that we are able to bring you this report at all – one of our reporters just happened to be researching new material in the Insider Dealers’ Arms, a public house not far from the scene. As I speak we are receiving even more serious and perplexing news. Reports are coming in that the Stock Exchange is in chaos. Garbled messages from mobile phones are the only source of our information so far, as we are currently unable to contact any Stock Exchange officials using our regular channels of communication. Whatever turns out to be the true explanation of what is happening, one thing is certain: the pound is plunging on world markets and millions of pounds are being wiped off shares as I speak. This is nothing short of a disaster and, when the truth comes out, I’m afraid some very senior heads are going to roll
.’

Meanwhile, in offices throughout the building, there were gurgling noises from the washbasins and sinks at coffee points as dirty waste water welled back up through plugholes, filled basins to the brim and began to spill over on to the floor. Those who had taken refuge in the toilets found themselves having to cope with problems that were similar in nature but considerably more unsavoury in detail. The instructions to the rats and squirrels had been
very specific and they had carried them out painstakingly during their busy night. The hundreds of fragments of material they had chewed off the protective suits throughout the Exchange had been taken to the sewers and stuffed back into every waste outlet leading from the building.

Outside, the traffic remained solid and stagnant. In quintessential British fashion somebody had now brought a bowl of water to the dogs on the crossing and they were taking it in turns to lap it up gratefully, never leaving the crossing unattended. Incredibly, someone was already selling T-shirts saying:

And now, once again, Richard saw Lucy in the vast throng. She finished eating a packed lunch, put the wrappings in her rucksack, replaced her sunglasses with a pair of ordinary spectacles and began to make her way through the crowd. As she did so the dogs on the crossing and among the cars melted away into the crowd and the skies cleared as the pigeons circling above disappeared into the west. The traffic slowly began to move again just as, in the distance, a detachment of troops could be seen clearing
the crowd from one side of the street and making their way with an armoured troop carrier along the pavement. What they would have done – or, more probably, failed to do – was never put to the test for at that moment the bees, wasps and birds began to stream out of the building. Their numbers were so great that it took several minutes for them to leave but eventually the last intruder left and it was clear that the crisis was over.

It was the afternoon of the same day and the director of the Exchange, Graeme Midasman, had been invited by the manager of the bank nearest to the Stock Exchange to use a suite of his offices as a temporary headquarters while the Exchange was restored to some semblance of normality. He sat at his desk in front of a half-open window through which he could hear the noise of the dispersing crowds. He was a ruthless and ambitious man who was universally unpopular with his staff, and he was now reading the reports on what had taken place to see if he could plant the entire blame for what had happened on one of his section chiefs.

The phone rang on his desk: it was his secretary in the adjoining office:

‘A call from Whitehall, sir. Shall I put it through?’

‘It’s not the Chancellor yet again, is it?’ The Chancellor of the Exchequer had rung three times in the past hour.

‘No sir, it’s the Prime Minister.’

‘For heaven’s sake – put him through straight away!’

‘Graeme?’ It was the unmistakable voice of the PM and he did not sound like a happy bunny. ‘What the hell’s going on? Every time there’s a financial crisis I get some
cock-and
-bull story from the Chancellor but this one is really way out – he’s blaming it on an invasion of your place by a bunch of animals.’

‘For once he’s telling you the truth, sir,’ said the director. ‘You’ve heard of bear markets and bull markets? Well, today has been an entire zoo market. We’ve had wasps, bees, dogs, birds, monkeys – I’ve never seen anything like it.’

‘The pound’s dropping like a stone,’ said the PM tersely, ‘and my five-year plan is disintegrating by the minute. When are you going to be back in action?’

‘Well, every computer and phone in the building has got to be reconnected and the IT people can’t give me a firm prediction as to how long that’s going to take. The entire place needs cleaning up, of course, and recarpeting – you’ve never seen so many bird droppings in your life. Then there’s the plumbing. Our maintenance engineers say that every waste pipe is blocked right down to the sewers – we’ve ordered in some portable loos but the plumbers say it could be several days before it’s fixed.’

‘Plumbers!’ exclaimed the PM. He sighed in resignation. He was a practical man and a householder; he now knew for certain they were dealing in weeks. ‘What about the staff?’ he asked. ‘I understand none of the dealers was seriously hurt.’ There was an unmistakable note of disappointment in his voice.

‘That’s right, sir,’ said Midasman. ‘Lots of stings of course, a couple of rat bites and three jackdaw pecks. One person is in hospital with a broken jaw. He swiped at a wasp and hit Big Bert the odd-job man on the nose by mistake. What I can’t understand is what drove all these animals to do it. It’s as though they were working to a plan.’

‘Do you think it was terrorists?’ said the PM.

‘What, dressed up as animals? No, the dogs looked real and the birds and wasps and bees were so tiny that nobody would have …’

‘No, you fool!’ the PM interrupted. His voice had taken on a distinctly truculent tone. ‘I don’t mean dressed up as animals. I mean were terrorists behind it? Did they mastermind it? Have they been training animals in special camps?’

‘Well – I’ve no idea. How would we know?’ The director was not particularly bright but he had a distinct feeling that the conversation was not going particularly well.

‘What have you done with the animals you captured?’ asked the PM testily.

‘Captured … er, I’m not sure we captured any. In fact, I know we didn’t. They all just suddenly disappeared as if on a pre-arranged signal.’ He felt that it was time to restore his credibility with a shrewd comment and, clearing his throat, continued: ‘Er … with respect, sir, what difference would it have made if we had captured some animals? It’s not as if we could interrogate them, is it?’

By a superhuman effort the PM just managed to control himself; he spoke through gritted teeth. ‘No,’ he said very
slowly, as if talking to a young child. ‘Curiously enough I didn’t actually have interrogation in mind. In my simple way I was thinking more about looking for possible identification marks, implanting electronic chips in the dogs and then releasing them so they could be tailed back to their source, and various other methods that didn’t involve engaging the animals in actual conversation.’

‘Oh, that’s really clever. I’d never have thought of that myself,’ said the director.

‘Really?’ said the PM. ‘Perhaps that’s why I’m a Prime Minister and you’re just somebody looking for a new job.’

‘But I’m not looking for …’

There was a click and the line went dead.

The scene faded and Richard found himself back at home. He sat watching the television as shaky shots of the day’s scenes outside the Stock Exchange telexed by tourists on their camcorders were displayed. He was just going to get up and make a cup of tea when a newsflash came up.

‘And now we interrupt our programme on London to go over to New York where the Stock Exchange is experiencing scenes astonishingly similar to those we have just been reporting in London. A large number of skunks have entered the building which was occupied by a swarm of killer bees a few minutes earlier. We are now going over to our New York correspondent, Magnus Appleton, to hear more details. After his report we shall be
interviewing Professor Wildersage, an expert on abnormal animal behaviour, to see if there is any possible explanation for this bizarre animal behaviour across two continents …’

Richard stared in stupefaction as the scenes from New York, uncannily reminiscent of those he had just witnessed in London, flashed across the scene. The only difference he could see was that many of the New Yorkers crowding the Wall Street pavements had face masks on, presumably in case the animals were infected.

Just then Lucy walked in.

‘Hi, Dad!’ she said, looking at the television. ‘Oh great! I was never sure about whether they’d understand my animanet instructions but they certainly seem to be doing the business in New York – in fact it’s going so well I think I’ll do the Ministry of Defence and the Pentagon later in the week. Then I’ll pick off all the Ministries one by one and see if they learn from each other how to cope. They won’t, of course, ’cos I’ll do something different each time. Then, the big one!’

‘The big one?’ said Richard. His throat was so dry that his voice came out in a croak.

‘Parliament of course,’ said Lucy. ‘Can’t you just imagine it – live on TV? I’ll get some of those boring old farts moving quicker than they’ve done for years. It’ll be the circus to end all circuses. They’ll be the laughing stock of the world. And think of the headlines the next day: “
THE NOAHS HAVE IT AS WHIPS FAIL TO CONTROL PARTY ANIMALS
.” I can’t wait. And then, of course, they’ll do anything I say,
anything
!’

‘Lucy, we need to talk,’ Richard said. He stood up to face her, his knees trembling.

‘Just a minute, Dad. I must have a drink.’ She disappeared into the kitchen.

Richard sat down again. His skin was cold and his heart was pounding. The situation was nothing short of catastrophic.

‘Dad! Dad!’ Lucy was calling him from the kitchen. ‘Dad! Dad!’ Her voice sounded nearer. ‘Dad, wake up! The pilot says we’re flying into a storm and it’s best if you’re awake.’

Richard suddenly realized where he was and was overcome with a feeling of intense relief. It had all been an awful dream!

‘Dad, you’re as white as a sheet. Are you OK?’

Lucy sounded very concerned. She was the same as ever. Her old sweet expression was back and her hair hadn’t been cut off. Everything was all right.

‘Yes, I’m fine, love,’ said Richard. ‘I’ve just had an incredibly long and realistic dream – a terrible nightmare in fact. It was about you.’

‘Well, go on! What did I do? Tell me quickly before you forget.’

Richard felt slightly embarrassed but he recounted the whole story. Lucy listened in silence, grinning once or twice at some of the more outrageous incidents. When he had finished, he apologized for the role he had cast her in.

‘Don’t worry, Dad. I’ve had some similar dreams myself. I think that the possibilities created by my power are so mind-blowing that our subconsciousness works on them
and they come out as dreams. You can be quite sure I’ll never misuse my power and behave like a terrorist or an anarchist. I’ve thought about this a lot and there are loads of perfectly legal and moral ways of exerting influence. In fact I’d like to discuss them with you when we have a chance and see what you think.’

The little plane was bucking and jolting in the storm but Richard hardly noticed, so relieved was he to hear Lucy’s reassuring words.

‘By the way,’ she continued, ‘I like the way you used the animals. You obviously learnt a lot in a couple of days at Cayman Creek. I couldn’t have done better myself.’ They both laughed and Richard put his arm round her and gave her as good a hug as their seat belts would allow.

The pilot removed his headphones and turned towards them.

‘Landing in five minutes,’ he said. The little plane was stopping the night in Manaus and they would go on to Macapá the following day. They would spend the following night there with José and his family, and then go on to Rio for a direct flight to London.

B
ritish Airways Flight 246 touched down at Heathrow exactly on time at 8.50 a.m and there had never been such a reunion. Lucy and Richard came through customs to find the entire family waiting. Sarah had pushed her way under the barrier and rushed up to fling herself into Richard's arms, and soon everybody was hugging and kissing. Joanna was crying too much to speak at first but eventually managed to say that she had been convinced she was never going to see either of them again. Clare couldn't get over how long Lucy's hair was and how tanned she was, and told her father that his very first job was to cut off his beard. Richard had by now got used to it and was secretly rather proud of its luxuriant growth, but it seemed that Clare's views were shared unanimously by the rest of the family and it was decided that, after a final photograph, it would be ceremoniously removed the next day. Grandma and Grandpa were both in tears and Grandpa hugged Lucy so tight that he knocked her glasses off. They fell to the ground and the lenses fell out. Lucy burst out laughing.

‘I just don't believe you, Gramps. In the last ten weeks
those glasses have survived kidnapping, imprisonment, jungles, rivers, swamps, storms, cliffs and a monkey, and you've bust them in ten seconds!'

‘What did the monkey do to them?' asked Ben, his interest immediately aroused.

‘There was a tame monkey called Queenie at the jungle camp where I was staying and she loved to play with my glasses. Daddy actually bought her a blank pair when we left so she's now the only monkey with glasses in South America!' They all laughed and Joanna then reminded Lucy that she had some spare glasses at home in her bedside cupboard.

‘It's a funny feeling,' said Lucy. ‘I've been so used to only having what I stand up in that the idea of having anything spare or new seems like an incredible luxury. They gave me a little bag of toiletries on the plane and it seemed like a treasure trove.'

Soon they arrived home and Lucy was overjoyed to be back in her own bedroom with her own things. Tibbles
was incredibly excited to see her and told her that she had received occasional reports to say that she was well and being cared for by the animals. Tibbles seemed uncertain as to what kind of animals had been looking after Lucy, she described them as giant dreykin – squirrels. Lucy was puzzled until she remembered that Tibbles had never seen a monkey and this was how she must have imagined what they looked like from what she had been told. She had also obviously had trouble imagining the armadillos, which she sometimes referred to as giant velvetkin and sometimes as giant shieldkin.

Richard and Lucy were both weary and they went to bed for the rest of the day. In the evening Joanna prepared a special dinner to celebrate the long-awaited family reunion.

After dinner the family listened enthralled as Lucy and Richard told their incredible stories. They talked into the early hours and it was only as they recounted their stories that Lucy and Richard realized just how much there was
to tell. Sarah's eyes were as wide as saucers as Lucy described her expedition to look for Richard and she insisted on Lucy describing everything in the utmost detail. She was especially interested in how Lucy had coped with everyday matters.

‘What did you drink? How did you brush your teeth? Did you ever comb your hair? How did you cut your nails? Did you cry every day?' – and dozens more questions until Lucy laughed and pleaded for mercy. When Sarah kissed Lucy good night she said:

‘It's lovely to have you home again but I really, really wish you could have brought Michelle and Katy with you.'

‘Never mind,' Lucy said. ‘Maybe one day we can go there together and find a new Michelle and Katy just for you.'

The next day Joanna spoke to Lucy:

‘I know that you and Dad have had lots to tell us but you're not the only ones with some interesting news. Guess who came to see us while you were away?' She glanced at Clare as she spoke and Lucy thought she saw a faint blush on Clare's cheeks.

‘I've absolutely no idea,' she said, and she hadn't.

‘Tell her, Clare,' said her mother.

Clare reddened even more. ‘Well, you know that boy who caused your accident? He's called Mark Fossfinder and he lives with his aunt because his parents went missing abroad last year. Anyway, his older brother Clive was away at university when the accident happened, but he was so upset when he heard the details, he got permission to come and see you to apologize on behalf of his brother
and to see how you were. He rang up to find out if it was OK to come and was horrified to hear that you'd gone missing. He came anyway to see me and Mum and Sarah, and, guess what? He's doing medicine and I've just got accepted for a place in the same medical school. I'll be in the year below him. He seemed quite nice …'

‘Correct me if I'm wrong,' her mother interrupted, ‘but didn't I hear the words “gorgeous” and “fit” the last time we talked about him?'

‘… he seemed quite nice,' continued Clare hurriedly, completely ignoring her mother's interjection. ‘He said that he felt responsible for his younger brother. They had been very close and Mark had always relied on him. He seemed to go completely off the rails when Clive went off to college – apparently it was the final straw after losing his parents. He got in with a bad crowd and started on drugs and drink. He was actually high on drugs when he ran Lucy down. Clive said his aunt has now given up her flat in the city centre and moved into their parents' house, so his brother has got back to his old friends and his old school. Because of his circumstances the magistrate said he didn't have to be locked up but could do community service instead. Now he's with his old friends he's back to his old self and has made a fresh start. He's very clever, apparently, and is doing really well at school.'

‘How exciting,' said Lucy, ‘and well done for getting into medical school – fancy not telling me before!'

‘Well, we had to hear all your news first; mine could wait – and anyway I've got to get the right grades in my exams
or I won't be going at all.'

‘I wish I'd been here – I'd love to have met him,' said Lucy, thinking back to what Clare had told her.

‘You will. He said he'd like to come again and, if we didn't mind, his brother would like to come too. Of course he doesn't know the good news about your return yet, so I think I ought to call him and let him know.' She blushed again and Lucy had the distinct feeling that the need to call him was not an altogether unwelcome prospect for her sister. She said nothing, but planned to have an interesting conversation later with her mother.

To say that Grandpa was fascinated by Richard's account of the lost crater was something of an understatement. The men talked about little else for several days and as they talked Richard grew more and more uneasy about the thought of telling anyone else about the discovery. They agreed not to say anything until they had seen Helen and Julian.

A week after Richard and Lucy had returned there was a call from Helen and Julian to say they were safely back in England and would love to meet up again.

‘Come over to our place at the weekend,' said Richard, ‘and bring your kids as well if they're free – it would be nice for the families to get together.'

Saturday was a day of great excitement and preparation for the Bonaventures. Helen and Julian and their family were arriving in the afternoon and staying for dinner in the evening. Grandma and Grandpa were coming back up from the coast for the weekend and everybody was
looking forward to meeting the couple who had saved Richard's life and who in turn had themselves been saved by Lucy and Richard.

From lunchtime onwards Sarah waited at the window and at three o'clock she called out. ‘They're here, they're here!' Clare and Lucy were upstairs getting ready and Lucy ran into Clare's room which was at the front of the house.

Clare was already at the window. As she looked out she stopped short and put her hand up to her mouth. ‘It's not them,' she said with mounting excitement in her voice as two boys got out of the back of the car. ‘It's Clive and his brother – they've come without ringing us first.' Lucy joined her sister at the window just as the front-seat occupants got out of the car.

‘It
is
them,' she said ‘That's Helen and Julian.'

The girls looked at each other completely puzzled; then, as the light suddenly dawned, they raced downstairs, Clare narrowly beating Lucy to the front hall. By the time they got there Sarah had already opened the front door and there stood the Fossfinder family. Helen and Julian smiling at Lucy as she appeared, Clive grinning at Clare, and Mark standing a little behind the others, looking slightly embarrassed.

‘We didn't twig until we were almost here,' Clive said to Clare. ‘I suddenly realized that we were near to your house and then asked Dad the exact address we were going to. I simply couldn't believe my ears when he told me.'

They had all expected that there would be a lot to talk about that evening but in the light of the revelation that
Helen and Julian were the boys' missing parents they had even more to chew over. Mark had felt a little awkward at first, confronting the girl he had so nearly killed, but Joanna kindly put him at his ease and soon he was chatting away happily with the other youngsters.

After a celebration dinner to remember, the young people disappeared to play the latest games and listen to some new tracks on Clare's computer. The grown-ups sat in the lounge over coffee chatting about the extraordinary events that had changed all their lives and what they might mean for the future.

‘Talking about the future,' said Helen, ‘there are two things that Julian and I want to say. The first is that we haven't told the boys about Lucy and we won't tell them, or anyone, without your permission – and Lucy's of course.' Richard felt an intense feeling of relief flood over him. His conversations with Lucy had made him even more acutely aware of the dangers Lucy and the family would be in if her secret ever fell into the wrong hands.

‘The second,' she continued, ‘concerns the crater.'

Richard felt he must interrupt at this point, otherwise he might never have the courage to express his point of view. ‘Sorry to break in, Helen,' he said, ‘but before you say what I think you are going to say, I want to say something about the crater that I've gradually come to feel more strongly about ever since I left you.'

‘Go ahead,' Helen said, with an understanding smile.

‘For all three of us, publishing our discovery of what is arguably the greatest find in scientific history would mean
instant fame and fortune. Professorships, awards, books, lectures, films and no money worries for the rest of our lives. We have stumbled across every scientist's greatest dream.' He paused.

‘Go on,' said Helen.

‘Well,' Richard went on, ‘this may sound very selfish but it's what I believe and I must tell you even if you disagree.' He stopped and sipped his coffee. ‘When I think about how mankind is devastating virtually every part of the natural environment we know about and then think of the crater, existing as it has done for millions of years, I don't think I want to be responsible for its destruction – which is almost certainly what will happen if we tell people about it. I've discovered a new species of banana that, as far as anyone knows, I could have found in any remote spot in the Amazon and I think that will be enough to secure my academic future without my ever needing to mention the crater.' He paused and picked up his coffee cup. ‘Well, I've had my say. That's what I think, but I can't speak for you two and, when all's said and done, you discovered the crater before I did.'

‘We did,' said Helen, ‘and if it weren't for you and Lucy we'd still be there – probably in the shape of sabre-tooth droppings. Julian and I have been thinking about this, just as you have, Richard, and we've come to the same conclusion. Like you, we are certain that if people get to know about the crater, all those special creatures that live in it will be destroyed by disease, poaching, commercial interests, “Pliocene safaris,” or simply insatiable scientific
curiosity. We've spent all our professional lives examining the fossils of creatures that became extinct because of changes they couldn't cope with and we can't possibly put all the crater animals at risk just so that we can become famous. The place will obviously be discovered by someone else one day, but by then the world may be behaving more sensibly – especially if Lucy is able to carry out her Promise – and at least we won't have been the ones responsible for its destruction.'

For a few moments Richard was speechless. Eventually he broke his silence. ‘I've been worrying so much about what to say to you and now I find you've been thinking along exactly the same lines. It's wonderful. But there's one thing that's been bothering me ever since I started thinking this way; that is the fact that, even if you two should feel the same as I do, there is someone else involved – the pilot who came to rescue you. There is so much game in the crater he must have seen it and unless he were incredibly stupid he would have noticed that the animals were special.'

‘You're right, of course,' said Helen with a little smile, ‘and that's why I made sure he didn't see any animals.'

‘How on earth did you do that?' said Richard. ‘You can't exactly blindfold a pilot, and he would see things from the air before he even landed.'

‘Simple,' she replied. ‘I didn't try to stop him seeing anything, I just made sure that there was nothing for him to see.' They all looked mystified.

‘You, Richard, will remember being a little impatient
when you were climbing the rope ladder to leave the crater and I called Lucy back for a chat. I told her not to tell you what it was about, because I wasn't certain of your own views at that time.'