Every Second Counts (29 page)

I walked around the memorial again. At least this part of the park was relatively empty. We had taken back streets the whole way here and I’d made sure I kept as far away as possible from
everyone we passed. I’d wound a scarf around my nose and mouth too, for extra protection. I’d got some funny looks over that, but I didn’t care. The days when I was remotely
bothered about what anyone thought of me were long past.

Anyone other than Charlie, that is. I gazed down at her, outstretched on the nearby grass. My blurry vision cleared as jealous thoughts crowded my head. I’d seen the way Spider had looked
at Charlie. If he was going to help us, it was because he liked her.
Really
liked her. And I’d seen the soft, pleading way she’d looked at him. Did she like him back?

Anger like acid swirled in my guts. Soon, I knew, I would become weak and ill, too frail to help get the antidote. Was that what Spider was planning? Make out like he wanted to help, but really
leave things so late that I died anyway? I wondered how Jas was. The last time I’d switched my phone on – several hours ago – there’d been another text saying that she and
Mum and Dad had arrived at Aaron’s house and been reunited with Lucas. She’d sounded so happy, making no mention of any symptoms, that I hadn’t had the heart to tell her about the
virus and the death sentence that hung over her and all of them.

I knew I should; after all, though everyone she was with right now was either infected already – or, in Aaron’s case, immune – once Jas left the house she would infect everyone
she met.

My vision suddenly blurred again. I blinked and, again, it cleared. A woman pushing a buggy walked past as Charlie got up and came over. Her pale pink sweatshirt was grubby and earth-stained but
her eyes sparkled with determination.

‘Are you feeling okay?’ she asked.

I nodded. I was sure the blurred vision was just exhaustion. ‘No symptoms yet,’ I said.

‘Good.’ Charlie paused.

A soft, warm breeze rustled the leaves in the trees across the grass. Chatter and laughter filled the air. Under other circumstances this would have been a great place to have pulled Charlie
into my arms, to have kissed her, to . . .

‘No sign of Spider?’

Charlie’s question shook me out of my reverie.

‘No,’ I said, curtly.

‘Wait.’ Charlie peered across the park. ‘Is that him?’

It was. He was pelting towards us, his long limbs at full stretch. A few moments later he ran up, panting.

‘Hi.’ He looked at Charlie as he spoke.

‘Hi.’ She smiled. Man, she looked so pretty when she smiled.

Spider gazed at her, transfixed.

‘What did you find out?’ I asked.

Spider turned to me as if he was only just registering I was present.

‘The antidote is being stored in a few secret locations around London,’ he said. ‘I’ve got the address of the main place, the Silvercross Institute. It’s what the
operation was named after. It’s a scientific research outfit, not far from here. I think it’s where they developed the virus.’

‘That’s brilliant.’ Charlie flung her arms around him. Hugged him hard.

Spider’s face coloured a deep red as he hugged her back. I looked away. It was great news that we had this lead – but could we really trust it?

‘Did anyone see you snooping about?’ I demanded.

Charlie disentangled herself from Spider’s arms. ‘You were careful, weren’t you?’

‘Course I was.’ Spider drew himself up. He glanced at me. ‘I’m not an idiot.’ He said the words in such a way as to imply that I probably was one.

I gritted my teeth.

‘What’s the address?’ Charlie asked.

As Spider gave her the information I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Had I left it on? I thought I’d turned it off last time I’d checked for messages. Was getting forgetful a sign
of the virus taking hold? No, that was surely just tiredness too. I turned away and took out the mobile.

It was Aaron.

‘Hello?’

‘Nat?’ Aaron sounded desperate. ‘Listen, it’s Jas. She’s
really
ill.’

I glanced at Nat. He was hunched over his phone, muttering in a low, intense voice. Was he really alright? His face seemed very pale and his eyes looked strained. Still, that
could just as easily be because of our situation as because of the virus inside him.

‘Charlie?’ Spider’s voice was sharp.

I looked back at him. Spider, on the other hand, was glowing with health. His cheeks were flushed from running and his hair, swept back from his face emphasised those amazing cheekbones of
his.

If I was judging objectively, I would have to say that Spider was more conventionally good-looking than Nat. His wild dark hair and dark eyes made him look like a teenage model, as did his
designer clothes. As for that white-toothed smile of his . . .

But, to me, Nat was ten times more attractive.

I tore my eyes away from him, back to Spider.

‘Thank you for telling us all this,’ I said. ‘We’re going to have to move fast. Nat doesn’t have much time. Jas even less.’

Spider reached for my hand. I glanced at Nat again, but he was deep in his conversation, an agonised frown on his forehead. He was probably talking to Jas, telling her she was infected. My heart
went out to him.

‘I don’t want a thank you.’ Spider tugged at my hand, pulling me towards him. I looked up into his dark eyes. Brown instead of Nat’s ice-chip blue, but every bit as
intense. ‘I want to see you again.’

I hesitated. Part of me felt I owed Spider, that I should say yes. After all, he’d just risked his neck to bring us information. But Spider and I were, in the end, on opposite sides of the
battle. Quite apart from how complicated it would make things with Nat – or that Spider might even think I was into him if I agreed to meet him again – it just wasn’t possible for
me to be friends with someone who thought it was okay to murder and lie to get into power.

‘Do you still support your dad?’ I asked.

‘Of course.’ Spider frowned. ‘I mean, it’s like he’s always saying. You have to be ruthless to make a difference.’ He looked up at the memorial behind us.
‘Dad brought me here a lot when I was little, told me about the soldiers and how they gave up their lives. He’s always talking about how you have to keep remembering the big picture,
that a noble goal justifies all the sacrifices that have to be made to achieve it.’

‘Like the sacrifice of Nat and his sister?’ I shook my head. ‘How do you justify that? And what about Aaron’s dad, Mayor Latimer? Riley’s just taken him prisoner.
What noble goal did
that
achieve exactly?’

Spider shrugged. ‘I get they’re your friends. And, look, I’ve helped you over Nat. I’d feel bad if he died, if
anyone
dies, but it doesn’t change the fact
that you belong with me and Dad and Uchi and all the other senior EFA people.’ He pulled me closer still, his hand now on my waist. ‘You’re special, Charlie. You’re
beautiful. You’re—’

‘No,’ I said, pulling away.

‘Come on, we’re made for each other.’ Spider tugged me back towards him.

‘She said no,’ Nat snarled, appearing suddenly beside us.

Spider spun around. Seconds later the two of them were squaring up again, foreheads locked, fists clenched.

‘Enough.’ I pushed my way between them and stood in front of Nat, facing Spider. ‘I’m really grateful you’ve given us a location for the antidote Spider. But
I’m with Nat. And – and anyway, your dad organised the bomb that killed my mother. If you can’t see how terrible what he did was, if you insist on standing by him, I can’t
support that.’

Spider’s face flushed. ‘Fine,’ he said, backing away. ‘That’s just fine.’ He ran off.

I turned to face Nat, expecting him to smile or hug me, but he just stared at me, his expression unreadable.

‘What is it?’ I said.

I wanted him to hold me and to talk to me, but instead he pulled away.

‘Nothing,’ he said.

‘Right.’

There was an awkward pause.

‘So who was that on the phone?’ I asked, trying to hide my hurt.

‘Aaron.’ Nat’s face creased in another frown. ‘Jas is really ill, apparently. They didn’t understand why . . .’ His voice wobbled. ‘Her vision had got a
bit blurry, but that was all . . . then she collapsed. I – I just had to explain why.’

‘Oh, God . . . Nat, that’s awful.’ I forgot my own hurt feelings and squeezed his hand.

He squeezed my hand back, his mouth trembling with emotion. ‘What did Spider say?’

I explained what I’d just learned.

‘Spider says the institute is big, but that it should be empty right now. Just a security guard on reception.’

‘Right,’ Nat said. ‘I’ll call Aaron and tell him. He can meet us there.’

After he’d given Aaron the institute’s address near Trafalgar Square, I took the phone and told Aaron in detail how I’d seen his dad being taken away from Riley’s house
in a van. Aaron sounded distraught, but determined to help find the antidote.

‘Once we’ve got that, it should be easier to expose Riley – and get help for Dad,’ he said.

We arranged to meet within the hour, then Nat and I set off. Nat kept his nose and mouth well covered with his scarf again. As we hurried through the side streets, towards the institute, all
thoughts of how Nat and Spider had almost come to blows faded from my mind. What mattered now was getting that antidote. If Riley had been telling me the truth about the virus, Jas wouldn’t
survive beyond the night and Nat would be dead by the end of tomorrow.

I wasn’t going to let it happen.

The sun was still shining as Charlie and I waited in the doorway of a boarded-up shop for Aaron to arrive. Almost an hour had passed since Spider had brought us the address of
the Silvercross Institute. Charlie had already scouted around the building and was confident that – as Spider had claimed – it was empty. So far, so good, though I still didn’t
trust that he wouldn’t have gone straight back to Riley and given us away.

My vision wasn’t any worse. That is, it still grew blurry every now and then but not so that it was a problem – and not so as Charlie had noticed. At least I was sure I hadn’t
infected anyone on the way over here. I’d crossed the road to avoid the few people we had passed and kept my scarf over my nose and mouth.

Charlie was keeping a look out for Aaron while I checked my phone for any last-minute messages. There had been a distance between us since Spider had left. I knew I should have said something to
her after she’d said all those things about being with me . . . I should have told her that I chose her too. But somehow the moment had gone and I didn’t know how to get it back. I was
useless at stuff like that.

‘There he is.’

I followed Charlie’s pointing finger. Aaron had turned off the main road and was hurrying along the alley towards us. I stared, aghast. Lucas was beside him. What on earth was he doing
here? He certainly looked a lot better than he had done last night, though still very pale and thin. But surely he wasn’t well enough to be out on a mission like this? Plus, he was infected
with the Qilota virus, just like I was, which meant he was spreading it just by walking around.

Lucas strode straight up to me. ‘Nat, I’m so, so sorry,’ he said. And then he flung his arms around me.

Startled, I let him hug me.

‘Are you feeling alright?’ Lucas pulled away, an anxious frown creasing his brow.

‘Yeah, not bad, considering,’ I mumbled. ‘Er, what are you doing here?’

‘I came to help,’ Lucas said. ‘Listen, Aaron here and Jas have told me everything. About Riley, the EFA, the truth about what’s really going on. I’m sorry I
didn’t get it earlier.’

I nodded, feeling relieved. Despite how ill I was feeling, it was good to see Lucas looking more like his old self and great that he properly understood the terrible situation we were in at
last. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Aaron and Charlie watching us. Charlie was tugging on a black jumper that Aaron had, presumably, brought her from his home. Her sharp eyes were fixed
on Lucas, an expression of curiosity on her face.

‘You do realise you’re infected too, Lucas?’ I stammered.

Lucas nodded. ‘I know. I’ve tried to keep my distance from everyone we’ve passed. Anyway if we can find this antidote, it won’t be a problem soon.’ He gave my back
a firm pat. ‘Never mind me. I’ve only been infected for a few hours, I’ve got no symptoms yet. It’s you and Jas I’m worried about.’

‘How is she?’

Lucas shook his head.

‘Really bad,’ Aaron said miserably. ‘She’s so weak she’s had to go to bed. Your parents have taken her home; they’re sending us updates every thirty
minutes.’

Something shrivelled inside me; I couldn’t bear the thought of Jas suffering.

‘Oh, that’s awful,’ Charlie said.

At this Lucas turned towards her, as if noticing her for the first time. Feeling a little awkward, I introduced them, then watched Lucas’s frown transform into a smile.

‘Hi,’ he said. ‘Good to meet you.’

‘Hi.’ Charlie smiled back. ‘We should get going.’

We set off towards the institute entrance.

‘I’m really worried about my dad,’ Aaron confided as we walked. ‘Riley could be doing anything to him. I called a couple of his colleagues and they said they knew people
in the police they think they can trust, but . . .’ He tailed off, not needing to finish the sentence we were only too aware of: that it was virtually impossible to know who in the police
could be trusted at all.

‘I’m sorry about your father, Charlie,’ Lucas said. ‘I mean, I’m sorry that he’s behind so much of what Riley has done. That must be difficult.’

Charlie flushed, then threw me a hard stare. ‘Nat? You
told
him?’

‘
I
told him,’ Aaron said quickly.

‘How did
you
know?’ Charlie demanded.

‘Er, my dad said,’ Aaron stammered.

‘And how did
he
know?’

Aaron glanced at me, then looked away. Charlie raised her eyebrows.

‘I told Mr Latimer at the resistance meeting,’ I said, feeling uncomfortable.