The Set Up (10 page)

‘But why
here
?’ I gritted my teeth.

Geri looked surprised. ‘That was for your benefit, Nico. Jack insisted you should be rewarded for your efforts and I felt that having you beat the house by gambling would incentivise you
and
be a satisfying outcome for us.’ She laughed – a surprisingly light, tinkly laugh.

‘You want us to
gamble
?’ Ed said, aghast. ‘At a card game?’

‘Not exactly.’ Geri turned from him to take us both in. Her manner became more brisk. ‘When we go into the casino room next door I want the two of you to accompany me to the roulette wheel. Once there, I will bet on various numbers. After a while, I will look at Edward and “think” the number I need the roulette ball to land on. Edward will hopefully “hear” my thought and then communicate the number he “hears” to Nico – demonstrating he can both receive and give information. We’ll be watching to make sure Edward doesn’t cheat by signalling the number another way. Having confirmed the number with me, Nico will then attempt to manipulate the ball to land in the right slot on the roulette wheel. You will both have to work fast and under pressure, but that’s all part of the demonstration. We want to see how you perform under stress.’

‘And what if we don’t do what you say?’ I said.

Geri tutted impatiently. ‘Then poor Ketty will probably have to deal with a night in the cells, a caution from the police and the wrath of her parents.’

‘That’s not fair.’ My heart was thumping with the injustice of it. ‘None of this is Ketty’s fault.’

Geri raised an eyebrow. ‘Nico, I thought you were on board with all this? Jack said you were highly co-operative – that you were even looking for a way to make money from your abilities.’

Beside me, Ed gasped. I could feel his accusing gaze. But Ed was the least of my worries right now.

‘I don’t want anything if Ketty has to suffer for it,’ I said.
God
, how could Jack have got this all so wrong?

‘Ketty won’t suffer,’ Geri snapped. ‘Provided you do what you’re told.’ She turned to the door. ‘Come on.’

Seething, I followed her. How
dare
she put Ketty in this situation? How dare Jack?

‘Wait.’ Ed’s voice was shaky but determined, his face bright red. ‘What if we go to the police and tell them what you’ve told us and how you’ve set Ketty up? We know your name, we could get you arrested.’

Geri appeared unfazed. ‘You could try, Edward dear, but my operation is completely above the law.’ She paused, her eyes narrowing. ‘I suggest you don’t test me. You may not enjoy the consequences.’

Her threat hung in the air as she pushed open the door to the casino. Ed and I followed her through. Jack was standing beside the roulette wheel. He winked at me as we walked over. I looked away, feeling mutinous.

What did Geri mean . . . how could an operation be above the law? That meant being able to control the police. What kind of organisation was able to do that?

Geri took her place at the roulette table. At its head was a wooden bowl – the roulette wheel – that contained a circle of numbers in random order, each in a coloured slot – alternately black or red. A silver-shirted man stood beside the wheel, presumably ready to spin it. Beyond the wheel, a green baize-covered table stretched away – its surface covered in numbered squares corresponding to the ones inside the wheel.

Jack took Ed’s arm and led him round to the other side of the table. Ed looked numb with fear.

‘Place your bets,’ the silver-shirted man called.

Geri pushed a pile of round, plastic betting chips onto the number two on the table. A couple of other people, also at the table, placed their chips on other squares.

‘No more bets,’ Silver-shirt called. He spun the wheel. The numbers flashed by in a blur. Then he chucked a tiny ball into the wooden bowl. It rattled round the rim, then bounced in and out of a few of the numbered slots. Both wheel and ball moved fast at first but, as the wheel slowed to a halt, the ball settled into the number six slot and stayed there.

Geri sighed as Silver-shirt raked in her chips.

The game continued for several minutes. Geri bet and lost on numbers twenty, then six, then two again.

Ed and I received a number of disapproving glances from the other players. We were obviously underage. Still, Silver-shirt was completely ignoring us and nobody else actually
said
anything.

‘Place your bets,’ Silver-shirt called again.

This time Geri looked up at Ed.

I watched his face. His eyes were boring into hers – with that same intense look that I’d seen when he’d helped me during that history lesson. He was obviously reading her mind – finding out whatever number it was that she wanted the roulette ball to land on. The other two players around the wheel didn’t seem to notice.

Ed looked away and Geri glanced back down at the green baize table. She ran her pink, polished fingernail along the cloth, then looked sideways at me.

This was it. Now Ed’s job was to communicate the number Geri had chosen to me.

I focused on his face. He was staring grimly at the roulette wheel. Geri coughed.

I willed him to look up.

Geri coughed again.

At last Ed raised his dark blue eyes and met mine. I steadied myself, waiting for the rushing sensation I’d experienced before.

There.
A split second later, Ed’s voice was in my head, forcing me to listen.

The number she wants is seventeen. And by the way I hate you.

He tore his eyes away and I felt a rushing sense of release as my mind was freed from his hold.

I looked down at the table. Geri was tapping her nails against the pile of plastic chips in front of her. It suddenly struck me that I was only going to get one chance at this – and that I had to make it look smooth. My heart pounded in my chest.

For Ketty.

I took a deep breath and let the outbreath flow through me, down to my feet.

‘Final bets please.’ Silver-shirt looked disinterestedly round the table. He clearly had no idea that Ed and I had just communicated telepathically.

I could feel Geri’s eyes on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

‘What number d’you think I should bet on, Nico dear?’ she said.

I swallowed. ‘Seventeen,’ I said.

Geri smiled. Without speaking, she placed a slim tower of plastic chips on the black square numbered seventeen.

Focus.

‘No more bets,’ Silver-shirt cried.

A bead of sweat trickled down my back as he spun the roulette wheel. An expectant hush descended on the table. All eyes focused on the wheel. Silver-shirt threw the little ball into the bowl. It rattled round the wooden rim. Once round. Twice.

I tried to work out where seventeen was on the wheel, but the numbers were spinning by too fast. My mind raced, following the wheel round. Where was seventeen?
There.
It whizzed past and I lost it. But the wheel was slowing now, the numbers easier to see. I found seventeen again. My mouth was dry as the ball clattered in and out of a slot on the other side of the wheel.

It jumped to another, and another. Little bumps now. I concentrated on lifting it . . . flicked it over the next couple of slots. Then another two.

Seventeen was still several slots away.

I kept my breath steady. I mustn’t overshoot the slot.

Flick. Bump.
Into fifteen . . . into four . . .
Flick again
.

The ball landed in slot twenty-five.
Crap.
I breathed out, completely in the moment. The ball slowed. It was going to stop there unless I moved it again. Just one more tiny flick.

Yes.
The ball rattled next door into slot seventeen.

A throb of exhilaration pulsed through me. I looked round, making sure no one was staring suspiciously at me, then glanced up at Ed. He caught my eye, just for a split second, his face registering pure relief.

Then he looked away.

One of the other players at the table groaned. Geri smiled at me and laughed her light, tinkly little laugh again. Silver-shirt took a pile of chips, added them to the slim tower already on square seventeen and pushed them towards Geri.

‘Excellent,’ she murmured to herself.

I made my way round the table to where Jack and Ed were standing. Ed looked furious. Before I reached them, he turned and stomped out of the casino, closely followed by the man who’d taken Ketty earlier.

I grabbed Jack’s arm. ‘We did what she wanted. Make them let Ketty go.’

‘Calm down, Nico.’ Jack rolled his eyes, shaking my arm off. ‘Well done, that was impressive.’

I shook my head. Didn’t he realise the enormity of what he’d done?

‘You shouldn’t have threatened Ketty,’ I said.

Jack looked at me, puzzled. ‘Nico, man, Ketty’s fine. I
told
you, I was pulling the strings all along. She’s waiting in the front office now. Nobody’s said a word to her yet. You can go in there and explain you’ve sorted out the misunderstanding over the drugs. Not only will you have money to spend on her, she’ll think you’re a
hero
.’ He chuckled, clearly delighted with himself.

I frowned. Couldn’t he see it wasn’t that simple? ‘But Ed will tell her what really happened.’

Jack shook his head. ‘Edward’s been warned to say nothing to anybody. Not Ketty, not his parents, not Fergus Fox.’ Jack grinned. ‘I’ve got him out of your way too . . . he wanted to see Ketty, but I’ve had him sent back to school in a taxi. You’ve got her to yourself.’

I thought this through. Maybe it wasn’t too late to save the evening, after all. Jack was right. If Ketty didn’t know what had really happened, I could still come across as a hero. Plus we could get some food, chill a bit and I could show her the juggling I’d promised. She’d laugh and be impressed and, after that, anything was possible.

‘Okay, I guess that will work.’ I hesitated. Now that my worry over Ketty had been ratcheted down a notch, it occurred to me that Jack owed me a couple of explanations. ‘Why didn’t you just talk to Ed like you said you were going to? And why didn’t you tell me you were coming here with someone else?’

‘Geri just turned up and took over,’ Jack said. ‘She’s not someone you can refuse. And the only reason I didn’t tell you about her before was that I didn’t want to overwhelm you with too much information.’ Jack sighed. ‘I promise you, Nico, everything I said about helping you develop your abilities was true. All Geri Paterson and I want to do is to help you and the others. That’s why it’s so important to us to find all the people with the Medusa gene.’

I shook my head. I needed more information than that.

‘What’s this organisation you and Geri are part of? Who does she – who do you – work
for
exactly?’

Jack shook his head. ‘I can’t tell you that yet but it’s an extremely powerful organisation. The point is, Nico, we have your best interests at heart.’

I thought about the fear in Ed’s face earlier and my stomach cramped with anxiety. Even if everything turned out okay from this evening, I was beginning to see that Ed and I and the Medusa gene were just a tiny part of some mysterious – and far bigger – operation.

An operation that was dangerous, powerful and – for reasons I didn’t fully understand – extremely interested in the way the Medusa gene had affected us.

At that moment Geri appeared, an excited smile twisting across her thin lips. ‘Excellent work, Nico,’ she said, then turned to Jack. ‘Has Edward left already?’

‘Yeah, he refused to take any money.’ Jack sighed. ‘But, don’t worry, I made sure he’ll keep quiet about Viper.’

Geri nodded.

‘Viper?’ I said. ‘Isn’t that a snake?’

Jack and Geri glanced at each other. Geri nodded, as if giving Jack permission to speak.

‘Each recipient of the Medusa gene was given a code name when he or she was implanted,’ Jack explained. ‘The unidentified recipient was called Viper.’

‘
Each
recipient?’ I said. ‘Does that mean I have a code name too?’

Jack looked at Geri again, his eyebrows raised.

‘Yes.’ Geri smiled at me. ‘Your code name is Cobra. Very fitting – the King Cobra is a powerful snake.’ She handed me two fifty-pound notes.

I didn’t get the whole ‘snakes’ thing but I had to admit I liked the idea of being seen as powerful. And I
had
moved that roulette ball perfectly. I pocketed the money. Maybe I could handle Geri and her organisation after all.

Anyway, all that mattered now was seeing Ketty.

‘Come on,’ Jack said. ‘Let’s get you out of here.’ He led me out to the bar and across the room to a door I hadn’t noticed before marked
Office
. ‘Ketty’s in there. I’m going to make myself scarce, but you’ve got plenty of money. Get a cab back to school later, okay?’

I nodded, all my thoughts focused on what I was going to say to Ketty. I knew having money wasn’t going to cut it with her any more. I had to make her feel I’d saved her. I pushed open the door. She was sitting, hunched over, in a chair by the desk. As I walked in, she jumped up.

It was obvious from her tear-stained face that she’d been crying.

‘Nico.’ She flew across the room and hurled herself into my arms. ‘They just put me in this room and left me here. I’ve been so worried. Are you okay?’