Urban Outlaws (3 page)

Charlie took apart the telescope and put everything back in her hip bag.

For a second, they stared at each other. They’d done it. All the planning had paid off. Another job completed.

Jack cupped his hand over the microphone. ‘Slink, get yourself out of there.’

‘Already halfway home,’ came the reply.

‘Er, guys?’ Obi’s voice sounded anxious.

‘What?’ Jack said.

‘We got a problem. Transferring it now.’

An image filled the netbook screen and it showed a live CCTV view of the alleyway below. A second security guard had found the first and was helping him to his feet. After a hurried conversation, the first guard located his gun and they both ran into the building.

‘Oh, great,’ Jack said, folding the netbook and sliding it into his hip bag.

Charlie said to Jack, ‘Any other exits?’ He shook his head. She glanced behind them. ‘Only one way then.’

Jack groaned. ‘I ever tell you I’m scared of heights?’

‘Hey,’ Charlie said, clipping her hip bag to her belt, ‘it was your idea, remember?’ She actually looked excited by the prospect of what was to come.

‘Yeah,’ Jack said, finding the strap on his own bag and fixing it securely to his leg, ‘but I only agreed to do it as a last resort.’

The door to the roof burst open.

‘I’d say that’s exactly what this is.’ Charlie turned, sprinted across the rooftop, and propelled herself off the edge of the building.

The security guards stood motionless, eyes wide, jaws slack.

After a moment, they regained their senses and pointed their guns at Jack.

‘Don’t you move, kid.’

Without allowing himself time to think, Jack turned and ran as fast as he could.

Deafening shots rang out but it was too late – he leapt on to the ledge of the building and launched himself into nothing but open air.

CHAPTER TWO

A couple of seconds of free fall was not enough time to offer a prayer to any God that might be listening. Jack pulled the ripcord and a sudden jolt snapped his head back.

He looked up and was relieved to see the black parachute had deployed with no problems.

Once he’d overcome the immediate relief of still being alive, Jack gripped the steering toggles and looked for Charlie. The cold wind stung his eyes and blurred his vision but he heard her unmistakable squeals of delight coming from the left.

Jack pulled on the toggles and turned in the same direction. He saw Charlie’s silhouette glide between the buildings and he followed her through.

Ahead, Jack spotted the park. Judging by their flight path and factoring in the wind, their angle of descent was good – they’d land smack in the centre. Well, hopefully a gentle touchdown and not so much of a
smack
.

Sirens pierced the night and Jack strained his neck round in time to see the flashing blue lights of several police cars converging behind them. He shouted after Charlie but she didn’t hear.

A gust of wind caught Jack’s parachute and sent him flying right, heading straight for the side of a building, his reflection growing ever larger.

He let out a shout of panic and yanked on the toggles as hard as he could. At the last split second the parachute swung away, brushing the side of the building, the fabric sliding over the glass. After a few more terrifying seconds, Jack managed to regain control but now he was way off course.

He looked back at the fast-approaching cop cars. They were right behind him now and catching up.

Jack spun to face the front again and gauged the distance from the edge of the park to the landing zone to be around thirty or so metres. The police cars would have to stop at the entrance and go in on foot. He made a quick calculation. That meant they had around sixty seconds to gather their chutes and escape.

Jack tried his headset.

Charlie didn’t answer.

He wanted to warn her that they had to be quick, but he needn’t have bothered because she kept glancing back, obviously aware the police were on to them too.

She glided over the surrounding tree line of the park and vanished.

Jack raised his legs but it wasn’t enough, and his foot snagged a branch. He spun helplessly below the parachute, the cords wrapping around one another. There was a loud snapping sound that made his heart almost stop. Luckily, it was a branch and not his leg.

His jeans caught on another branch and he fell forward, breaking free of the tree but now spiralling out of control. He hit the ground hard, sending a bolt of pain through his knees, up his thighs and into his spine.

Jack rolled to lessen the impact but the damage was already done.

The parachute canopy landed over him and everything went dark.

Breathing heavily, Jack squeezed his eyes shut and fought the urge to cry out in pain. At least he’d made it to the ground alive.

A few seconds later, he heard the screech of tyres as the police cars stopped at the main entrance.

Jack struggled to free his legs but they hurt like mad and were wrapped in the lines. Defeated, he lay back and wondered if Charlie had got away.

He’d just closed his eyes again when he felt something tugging on the parachute cords. There was a tearing sound and the canopy above his head ripped open.

Bleary-eyed, he squinted into the moonlight. ‘Charlie? What are you doing?’

‘I’m not leaving you.’ The glint of a blade flashed as she sliced through the ropes and canopy.

Jack heard the police shouting and tried to shove Charlie off him. ‘Go. Get out of here.’

‘Shut up,’ Charlie snapped. More slicing, and she released his legs.

Jack shrugged out of the harness and Charlie pulled him to his feet. He winced. His legs still hurt but at least they were working. Nothing broken.

Torch beams bounced all around them, flashing as they moved through the trees.

Charlie grabbed Jack’s hand and they hurried to the boathouse by the lake. They ducked behind a low wall just as three police officers ran past.

‘They’re here somewhere,’ one of them said, already sounding out of breath.

Jack and Charlie kept still as they waited for them to pass. When he was sure they were far enough away, Jack peered over the wall.

The manhole cover was fifteen metres from them.

Fifteen metres
.

They’d never make it.

His eyes darted around the park, searching for another way out. The police had every exit covered and they were now spreading out and systematically searching the grounds.

Trapped
.

Jack ducked behind the wall and tried to clear his head, but the pain in his legs kept distracting him. He massaged the muscles and closed his eyes.

‘Jack?’ Charlie whispered.

‘I’m thinking.’ In his mind’s eye, he imagined the park from above: the railings around the outside, the three entrances, the cop cars and their probable locations, and their goal – the manhole cover. But how to get to it without being seen?

Jack thought about making a run for it but the night was clear, the moon out, not a chance. Especially with his stiff legs. No, what they needed was a distraction. Something that would at least let Charlie escape.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, he had it.

His eyes snapped open and he looked at Charlie. ‘Give me your bag.’

Charlie unclipped the hip bag from her belt and slid it over to him. He unzipped it, rummaged inside and pulled out the telescope. He glanced at Charlie. ‘Sorry about this.’ He started to unscrew the end.

‘Hey,’ Charlie hissed, ‘what are you doing?’

‘Relax. I won’t break it.’ Though, he couldn’t guarantee that. Jack removed the cap and carefully slid out the camera and laser assembly.

He’d watched Charlie build this and knew exactly what he wanted. He unclipped the laser and its battery pack, then he slipped the telescope into the bag and handed it back to Charlie.

Keeping low, Jack peered over the wall. There were four cops to his right, a few metres away. Ahead was an open lawn area, and beyond that was a bench in front of some bushes. That would have to do.

Jack rested the laser on top of the wall and switched it on. He aimed the beam through the slats of the bench and into the bushes.

The green light illuminated the leaves.

Jack glanced at the four cops. They hadn’t spotted it yet, so he waggled the light left and right until it finally got their attention. He saw one of the officers point, put a finger to his lips and gesture for them to split up.

Good. They thought it was something glowing in the bushes and not being beamed from a distance away.

The cops moved slowly towards the bushes.

They were as dumb as cats.

Charlie grinned.

When he gauged the police were far enough away, Jack turned off the laser. ‘Let’s go.’

Charlie helped Jack over the wall and they jogged to the manhole cover.

Jack knelt and heaved it open.

Charlie climbed down the metal ladder inside and Jack followed her. Below, he lowered the cover silently back into place, and dropped beside Charlie as she flicked on her torch. They were now standing in a large brick sewer tunnel. On either side was a narrow walkway.

Jack unclipped his own torch from his belt and switched it on. ‘Come on,’ he said, wanting to put as much distance between them and the cops as possible. He was sure they’d be scratching their heads for hours wondering where Jack and Charlie had gone.

As they walked, the only sound came from the soft squelch under their feet. The smell didn’t bother either of them any more – they were used to it.

They reached an intersection and went right. Two more lights sparkled in the distance. Jack whistled their code: three musical notes – one short and low, one high, the last a long mid-tone.

The three rapid high chirps in reply signified friends ahead, and Slink and Wren’s faces appeared through the gloom.

Wren looked somewhere between anxious and excited. She rocked from side to side, wringing her hands.

‘You OK?’ Charlie asked her. Wren nodded. Charlie ruffled her blonde locks. ‘You were brilliant.’

Wren smiled.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ Jack said. The sooner they were home, the quicker he could rest his screaming muscles and check for any further damage.

‘Wait.’ Charlie handed Jack her bag and strode off down the right-hand tunnel.

Jack called after her, ‘Where are you going?’

‘Food.’

‘Thank God,’ Slink said. ‘Obi’s been driving me crazy.’

‘He’s been driving us all crazy,’ Jack said, as they headed down the left-hand tunnel with Wren trotting after them.

•   •   •

Twenty minutes later, they were in the tube network standing on Badbury platform – an abandoned underground train station. Paint and plaster peeled off the ceiling in large chunks. The main flight of stairs had disintegrated. Now all that remained were the slots in the wall where the steps had once been.

Dirty tiles covered the rest of the walls, overlaid with faded posters from the nineteen-fifties. Some advertised films that Jack had never heard of, like
Too Many Crooks
,
The Horse’s Mouth
and
Some Like It Hot
. Even though Jack had never seen any of the films, he recognised the star of the last one – Marilyn Monroe.

A low rumble signified the approach of a train. It was unlikely anyone would spot them in the dark but there was still a chance the driver might. They hid behind the pillars and Wren cupped her hands over her ears as the deafening clatter echoed off the walls.

Wind whipped through the tunnel, stirring up rubbish and bringing a warm breeze that stank of oil. The wheels crackled and sparked on the tracks, the bright flashes of light sending strange shadows bouncing around them.

Jack caught glimpses of the passengers as they hurtled by: businessmen and women reading newspapers, students wearing headphones, mothers trying to control their unruly children. They were people with normal, boring lives, unaware Jack and the others existed, oblivious to the hidden world just metres away from them.

Once the train had passed, and it was safe again, Jack, Slink and Wren crossed the tracks. On the other side of the platform was a rusty metal door and its hinges groaned as Slink swung it open.

Beyond the door they walked down a narrow service corridor. When they reached the end, Slink slid back the concertina grille to a wooden lift and stepped inside.

Jack knew it was at least a hundred years old. It was full of woodworm and so rotten it seemed as though it could fall apart with the slightest touch.

Wren looked uneasily at the lift, then back to Jack. ‘Can we go the other way?’

‘Not from here.’

She was right though. It didn’t look strong enough to carry one of them, let alone three. But Jack and Charlie had checked it out and deemed it to be good enough for them to use. It had a strong metal frame at least.