Every Second Counts (26 page)

Lucas nodded and, leaning on my shoulder, he hobbled over and sank down, on to the grass.

‘We were all here this morning . . .’ I started.

‘Yeah, I heard you. Well, bits of what you said. Talk about tough love.’ He grimaced. ‘Poor Mum – and poor me, you told her I wasn’t “properly alive”,
remember? Told her and Dad to get a grip and do their job as parents, or something like that.’

So he
had
heard me. ‘I was just trying to look out for Jas,’ I said, feeling awkward.

Lucas chuckled and I saw a glimpse of his old self: charming and laid back and everyone’s favourite.

‘You were right, man. Everything you said. I’m not having a go. It’s just hard getting my head around everything that’s happened since last year.’

‘I know,’ I hesitated. ‘You do believe me about Riley and Taylor, don’t you?”

‘I believe you
think
they’re the bad guys,’ Lucas said.

What the hell did that mean?

‘They took
Jas,
’ I said, my anger rising again. ‘They nearly killed us both.’

‘Okay, okay.’ Lucas held up his hands in surrender, then propped himself up against a tree. He was hidden from the car park by a large shrub. I glanced back at the hospital. My only
hope of locating Charlie was through Latimer. And I had to talk to him immediately. I’d wasted enough time. The thought of what Riley might do to Charlie now he knew she had tricked him made
me feel sick to my stomach.

‘Go on,’ Lucas said. ‘Get back inside. Stop thinking about it and
do
it.’

I looked at him. ‘I won’t be long.’

‘I’m not going anywhere.’

I hesitated.

‘
Go
.’ A shadow of his old grin flickered across Lucas’s face. ‘I just hope she’s worth it.’

Embarrassed, I spun on my heel and headed back to the hospital. As I reached the entrance I stood back, keeping my head down, as a burly man in a suit pushed his way out.

He looked around, then called to the people behind him. ‘Let’s go. Quick as you can.’

I glanced up to see who was emerging from the hospital.

To my surprise it was Aaron. He hurried outside, his mother fussing over him, tugging a jacket around his shoulders. Aside from the bandage across his head, Aaron looked completely fine. As they
passed me, Aaron glanced over.

‘Nat!’ he said.

I walked towards him. Immediately the bodyguard stood between us. The wind whipped across my face as he drew back his jacket to reveal a gun in its holster.

‘Stop,’ he said. ‘Stop or I’ll shoot.’

It took three attempts before I managed to make the bank card Latimer had given me open the interview-room door. My palms were sweating as I slid it down the final time and,
with a telltale click, the lock gave way. I pulled, very gently, on the handle and peered out through the crack between the door and the frame.

There was no one outside. I crept into the dimly lit corridor, closed the door quietly behind me, then tiptoed away. I reached a corner. Voices – loud and male – echoed towards me. I
turned and sped in the other direction. I had no idea where I was – I’d been led through a maze of corridors to get here; but I was on ground level, which meant sooner or later I would
surely come to a door or a window.

Footsteps sounded ahead of me. They were getting closer. I ducked around the nearest corner and flattened myself against the wall. I peered back along the corridor as two men passed. They were
just inches away, but so intent on their conversation that neither noticed me.

My heart thumped as they reached the room where I’d been held. Were they going to check on me? No. I sighed with relief as the two men walked on. I crept along, hoping I was heading for an
exit. I passed more doors, all closed. Voices drifted out from several of the rooms. At last I came to a fire door. I hesitated. I’d managed to move silently so far, but opening a big door
like this would make a noise. Plus I had no idea where it would lead. Still, there wasn’t a choice. The longer I stayed inside the police station, the more likely I was to be found and
imprisoned again.

I pressed slowly on the metal bar. With a clunk and a screech, the door opened. I peered outside. It was dark, but the light from the building revealed I was in a car park, with squad vehicles
on one side, and unmarked cars on the other. Again, I could hear voices in the distance but nobody was in sight. Apart from the motors and a few shrubs there wasn’t much to see. High walls
surrounded the tarmac on all sides, the only exit from the car park being a solid metal gate. My heart sank. There was no way of getting a purchase on the gate to climb up it. Still, maybe if I
stood on top of one of the cars, I might just be able to get my leg over the brick wall.

An alarm sounded behind me, its sudden screech making me jump. Was that because of me?

Gritting my teeth, I raced over to the largest car, an estate with a roof a few centimetres higher than the other cars. As I clambered on top of it, the car alarm sent a deafening whistle into
the air. Now both alarms screeched in my ears. I bent my knees and jumped, clawing on to the top of the wall. My muscles burned as I hauled myself up. My arms and legs scraped along the rough
brick. I barely noticed the pain. The alarms were joined by shouting voices. I crouched on top of the wall, legs trembling. It was a long, long way down to the alleyway below. The shouts were
getting louder. Closer. There was no time to look back.

I scrambled sideways along the wall about a metre. I was immediately above a pile of rubbish bags.

‘Oi! She’s out here!’ The yell was just metres away.

No time to lose.

I took a deep breath and jumped.

I put my hands in the air. Aaron’s mother uttered a terrified squeak. The bodyguard narrowed his eyes and let his jacket cover his gun again.

‘I’m not going to hurt anyone,’ I said.

‘Shut it,’ the bodyguard snarled. ‘I’ve seen your face on the news, you’re wanted for that bomb at the Houses of Parliament. I’m going to call the
cops.’

‘Wait.’ That was Aaron. ‘It’s okay, he’s okay.’

‘What’s going on?’ his mum asked.

‘I need to find Charlie,’ I said to Aaron. ‘If your dad is really on our side, he’ll want to help.’

‘Who are you?’ Aaron’s mother demanded. She turned to her son. ‘What’s he talking about?’

‘I should call the police,’ the bodyguard threatened.

‘No, everything’s fine.’ Aaron motioned them both to calm down. ‘This is Jas’s brother, he’s a friend. My dad knows him, he’s cool.’

The bodyguard gave a reluctant nod.

‘Jas’s brother?’ Aaron’s mum frowned. ‘I thought her brother was in a coma?’

‘I’m her
twin
brother,’ I said, deciding now wasn’t the time to confuse matters by explaining that Lucas was in fact conscious and hiding just metres away in the
shrubs by the car park.

‘Have you heard from her?’ Aaron asked anxiously. ‘I’ve been so worried.’

I shook my head. ‘I’m sure she’ll call later. Or Mum and Dad will. I’m only turning my phone on every now and then, I don’t want anyone tracing me.’

‘Why would anyone—?’ Aaron’s mum started, but before she could finish, Aaron interrupted.

‘Do you promise you’ll call me if you know where she is?’ Aaron pleaded. He pulled a phone out of his pocket. ‘This is brand new,’ he said. ‘Definitely no
bugs. I told her it was okay to call me on it, but she hasn’t yet.’

I hesitated. I was certain Aaron and his dad were genuinely on our side, but I still didn’t trust their phones: Riley was capable of tracing anything.

‘Please, Nat, promise you’ll let me know if you hear from her,’ Aaron repeated.

‘Tell me where your dad is first,’ I said.

‘What’s going on?’ Aaron’s mum frowned at me. ‘Why do you want to speak to my husband?’

‘It’s fine, Mum.’ Aaron leaned close to my ear, so the others couldn’t hear. ‘As far as I know, Dad’s with Riley at his house. Riley still thinks Dad’s
on his side. Mum doesn’t know what’s really going on, she’d freak out if she had any idea what a risk he was taking.’ He stepped back. ‘Now do you promise you’ll
let me know if you hear from Jas?’

‘What did you just say, Aaron?’ his mum asked.

‘I promise,’ I said. ‘Thank you.’ I turned away from Aaron. I needed to make my way to Riley’s house as fast as possible and wait for Latimer to emerge.

And then I remembered Lucas.

‘Aaron?’ his mum persisted.

‘It’s nothing, Mum.’

I stopped. What on earth was I going to do with my brother while I travelled across London?

‘What is it?’ Aaron asked me. ‘Why have you stopped?’

‘Aaron, we really need to get you home,’ his mum said.

I turned around. I’d had an idea.

I landed with a thud, my fall broken by the bin bags. One burst and a foul smell of rotting meat filled my nostrils. Flies swarmed into my face.

Spluttering, I pushed myself up and ran along the narrow road. Arms pumping hard, I turned on to what looked like a high street and raced past shops and a bus stop where people stood, waiting.
Every one of them stared at me as I pelted past.

I swerved to the left, across a patch of wasteland. Over a fence into a back garden. A dog barked in the darkness. I had no idea where I was or where to head for. I ran on, over another fence.
Out into an alley. This time I heard my dress rip as I jumped down. I darted right, towards the lights, out on to another road – or was it the other end of the high street from earlier? More
people stared at me.

‘Good party was it, love?’ one man asked as I ran past.

I glanced down at my dress. It was ripped right across from halfway down the thigh. The loose strip of material dangled and flapped around my shin. I took it in both hands and tore it off, then
tore a little more off the front in a hopeless attempt to even up both sides. Now it was ridiculously short. I reached a bank with a hole in the wall for getting money. I stopped, determined to try
out the bank card Latimer had given me. I could just make out a tube station further down the street, about forty metres away. I was too far away to see which one, but it didn’t matter.

I punched in Latimer’s PIN number. It worked, much to my relief. I examined my arms and legs as I waited for the bank to dispense its cash. Both were grazed and sore, but otherwise I was
fine. I ran my fingers through my hair and rubbed at my face, hoping that I was removing the worst of the dirt. In the distance, sirens sounded. I needed to hurry.

I collected my money and set off at a run.

‘What is it?’ Aaron tightened his grip.

‘Come on, Aaron,’ his mother said, an edge of worry to her voice. ‘We need to get you home. You were assaulted a few hours ago.’

‘I’m fine, Mum.’

‘Are you really okay?’ I asked.

Aaron nodded. ‘What were you going to say?’

‘It’s just . . . It’s Lucas – he woke up from his coma . . .’

Aaron’s eyes lit up. ‘That’s amazing. Jas will be thrilled.’

‘Yes.’ I paused. ‘The thing is, he refused to stay in the hospital but he’s not well enough for me to take him with me to – to find out where Charlie is . .
.’

‘We’ll take him,’ Aaron said without hesitation.

‘We’ll
what
?’ His mum stared at him.

‘Where is he?’ Aaron turned, ready to go back inside the hospital. ‘Which ward?’

‘Aaron, wait.’ His mum exchanged an impatient look with the bodyguard. ‘We can’t just take him.’

‘He’s Jas’s brother,’ Aaron said firmly. ‘We have to help him.’

‘He won’t go back inside the hospital,’ I said. ‘He’s basically fine, just a bit weak. I don’t have anywhere to take him so, if you don’t help,
he’ll spend the night outside.’

‘Oh, goodness.’ I could see Aaron’s mum wavering.

‘Where is he?’ Aaron repeated.

‘Er, he’s actually waiting for me over there . . .’ I pointed to the patch of shrubbery where I’d left Lucas. ‘He’s really okay, considering; just needs to,
er, rest a bit—’

‘Please bring the car over there, Mum.’ Aaron cut through me, suddenly full of authority.

His mother hesitated, then shrugged. ‘Okay, if he’s really well enough.’ She issued a long-suffering sigh. ‘I suppose we could look after him until Jas’s parents
can take him.’

She set off to get the car while I led Aaron and the bodyguard across the car park. Lucas was still slumped where I left him. He attempted a smile when he saw me, which turned to a look of alarm
as he clocked Aaron and the bodyguard.

‘Who are they?’ he asked.

I indicated Aaron. ‘This is Aaron.’ I paused. ‘He’s Jas’s boyfriend.’

‘
What
?’ Lucas’s eyes widened. ‘Jas has a
boyfriend
? When the hell did that happen?’

‘Aaron can tell you all about it,’ I said. ‘He’s going to take you somewhere safe.’

‘Somewhere where Riley and the EFA won’t think to look for you,’ Aaron added.

Lucas gazed from me to Aaron, then back to me again. He looked dazed. ‘He’s against Riley as well?’

I nodded. Perhaps sending Lucas off with Aaron – and giving him a chance to talk to him and Jas – would convince him at last about Riley’s real nature.

‘Let me help you up.’ Aaron hurried to Lucas’s other side. Between us we lifted him off the ground. I was shocked, again, by how slight he felt. With the bodyguard’s
help, we got him on to the tarmac, just as Aaron’s mum pulled up.

Aaron opened the back door and Lucas collapsed on to the seat.

‘Are you sure we shouldn’t take him back into the hospital?’ Mrs Latimer asked, leaning out of her window.

‘No way.’ Lucas sat up, opening his eyes. ‘If everything Nat’s told me is true, then Riley will want me out of the way as soon as he realises I’ve come
round.’

Aaron’s mum looked anxious.

‘He’ll be fine, Mrs Latimer, he just needs food and rest,’ I said, hoping that this was true and that Lucas wasn’t about to relapse into another coma because of all the
stress of being moved about.

‘Remember you promised to call me if you hear from Jas before I do, yeah?’ Aaron said, walking around the car to the other side.