The Firebird Mystery (14 page)

He looked serious. ‘You are never to do anything like that again.'

‘Like what, Mr Doyle?'

‘Jumping onto that airship! You could have been killed.'

‘I'm...I'm sorry, Mr Doyle.' Jack felt embarrassed. ‘I thought you'd be pleased to see me.'

‘I am. But you must not risk your life in such a way again.'

‘Mr Doyle,' Scarlet cut in, ‘Jack has been invaluable to us. If he had not pursued us when he did, we would probably have been murdered.'

Mr Doyle swallowed hard and gripped his shoulder. ‘I'm sure you've done a sterling job.' He turned to the others. ‘Is anyone injured? Are you hungry? I have cheese in my pockets, but I fear it may be dusty.'

‘Forget your blasted cheese!' Mr Harker said.

‘How did you get here?' Mr Bell asked. ‘We need to get off this island.'

‘Then we'll forgo the cheese,' Mr Doyle said. ‘I'll show you our mode of transport.'

He led them along the beach until they reached the headland. They rounded the stony outcrop, scrambling across rocks before arriving at a small inlet. Jack was starting to find it difficult to navigate in the gathering darkness. The rocks were slippery.

‘Do you have a boat, Ignatius?' Mr Harker asked.

‘Better than that.'

Mr Doyle led them down over a series of rocks leading almost to the water. Up ahead, Jack could see a strange egg-shaped contraption, balanced on two skids with a kind of cross dangling over the top of it. The smell of smoke and heated iron wafted across the air.

‘What on earth is that?' Scarlet asked.

‘I imagine your father knows the answer to that question,' Mr Doyle replied, turning to the men. ‘Oh Mr Harker, I was able to keep this contraption under control, but only just. A man with more experience would guide us safely.'

‘I wouldn't know how,' Paul Harker said.

‘The time for deceit has ended,' Mr Bell snapped. ‘It should have ended centuries ago.' He turned to Mr Doyle. ‘I have experience in flying the helicopter and I will do so if you wish.'

‘I do,' Mr Doyle replied.

‘Heli…what?' Jack asked.

‘Helicopter,' Mr Doyle explained. ‘The word is adapted from French,
hélicoptère
, which in turn originates from the Greek words
helix
and
pteron
meaning “spiral” and “wing” respectively.'

‘What does it do?' Jack asked as they neared the enormous contraption.

‘It's a vertical flying machine,' Mr Doyle explained. ‘Powered by steam, it will carry us across the water to the other side.'

‘I have concerns about that,' Mr Harker said. ‘It was never intended to carry this many people.'

‘He's correct,' Mr Bell confirmed. ‘I doubt it has ever carried so much weight.'

Mr Doyle looked past them. ‘Well, I think we just have to test its capabilities. Friends of yours, are they?'

They turned to see a group of strangely shaped figures in the gathering darkness.

‘It's the creatures from the lab,' Joseph Bell said. ‘They must have followed us.'

‘If you have a weapon, Mr Doyle,' Mr Harker said, ‘I believe we can reduce their numbers.'

‘No!' Scarlet protested. ‘They are men. Or they were.'

‘We will not kill them,' Mr Doyle said quietly. ‘Here. We're at the machine. Let's climb aboard and make a getaway while we can.'

They climbed into the bizarre contraption. The interior was much like a large egg flattened at the rear end. Jack could see the firebox was already alight. The air smelt of smoke and steam. The front was curved glass. Before it a control mechanism was set into the floor. There were no seats.

Mr Harker adjusted the boiler as Joseph Bell seized the steering mechanism. A steady vibration ran through the machine just as a pounding started up. The racket was deafening.

Jack and Mr Doyle pulled the door shut as the animal-men approached.

‘We'll need elevation shortly, gentlemen,' Mr Doyle yelled.

‘Almost there,' Mr Harker called back. ‘Just a few more seconds.'

A pounding emanated from the other side of the door. Soft at first, it quickly increased in intensity as more creatures beat at the metal. One of them rounded the machine and peered in the window. He drew back a fist and hit the glass. A long crack cut the middle of the pane.

‘Joseph,' Mr Harker said. ‘We need power.'

‘I'm applying full throttle,' Joseph Bell said. ‘Try now.'

Paul Harker turned the control mechanism. They heard the roar of the rotor blades. The sound of the engine and the moving parts was thunderous. The floor beneath them shuddered.

Up
, Jack thought.
Up!

More of the creatures gathered at the front of the helicopter, banging at the windows. Some were dog-men, others resembled bears and lions. Some drew back as the noise from the machine increased. One of them seemed driven mad by the racket; he started slamming his head into the glass. It cracked again.

The helicopter tilted backward and lifted up a few feet, before falling back to earth with a thud. Jack, Mr Doyle and Scarlet toppled against the bulkhead. Mr Bell twisted the control, pulled it back again and the helicopter lifted off. The flying machine rotated until it faced the mainland. Then Mr Bell pushed forward on the control column and they found themselves over the water.

Jack yelled out with joy and punched the air. Mr Doyle looked at him with surprise, then broke out into a huge smile. They were away from the island.

The detective leaned in, close to Jack's ear. ‘These gentlemen are rather more expert than I am at controlling this device. During my flight over here, I hit the water twice and almost sunk us. It was only Lucy's superior flying talents that got us here in one piece.'

‘How did you find us?' Jack yelled.

‘Later,' Mr Doyle replied.

The helicopter zoomed across the water at an elevation of about fifty feet. Jack thought of his parents and wished they were with him. They had loved being high above the ground. It seemed the happiest moments of their lives had been when the three of them were suspended in mid-air.

Jack heard an enormous
boom
. Scarlet peered out through a small window set into the rear of the chamber. A red glow flickered across her features.

‘It's the castle,' she yelled. ‘It's on fire.'

‘The Nazis have destroyed it,' Mr Doyle said.

‘You know about the Nazis?' Jack asked.

‘A little,' Mr Doyle replied. ‘I hope to discover more about them shortly.' He made his way over to Mr Bell and pointed at a place jutting out from the English Coast. The man nodded. He aimed the helicopter at a clearing and brought them in over an open field ringed by trees. They descended.

The helicopter hit the ground, bounced a couple of times and settled. Mr Harker manipulated a few controls and the rotor above them slowed. The sound of the engine died away and the ringing in Jack's ears subsided.

Mr Doyle opened the door and they all clambered out onto the grass. The rotors came to a standstill. Jack let out a sigh of relief. There had been times in the last two days when he'd thought he would not survive. Mr Doyle gave him a lump of something from his pocket. Cheese. Despite the fluff, it tasted wonderful.

Jack looked up into the clear black sky. The stars twinkled. The night lay silent and peaceful around him. Suddenly, a branch cracked in the undergrowth. Jack saw something move in the darkness at the base of the trees ringing the field. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Then he realised several figures were running at them.

‘Mr Doyle!' he began. ‘There are...'

A voice yelled from the darkness.

‘Everyone on the ground!' the man ordered. ‘You're all under arrest.'

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jack felt sick as the truck jolted from side to side. After the strangers had pounced on them, the group were all handcuffed with sacks placed over their heads. Anonymous hands had rushed them into the back of a steamtruck. Now he sat squeezed between Mr Doyle and Scarlet, exhausted and afraid. He had not slept well over the last two days and hardly eaten. A bone-numbing weariness overtook him. He closed his eyes.

When he woke, the truck had ground to a halt. A hand grabbed his arm and Jack found himself being led away from the vehicle and along a tunnel. The only sound was their footsteps echoing up and down the long corridor. Roughened stonework was underfoot.

After a while the tunnel angled upwards. A metal door creaked as it swung back. Jack was propelled forward again and he felt the cuffs removed. The sack was dragged off his head.

Benches pressed against opposite sides of the room. A table sat in the centre. Gaslights shone from above. Jack saw his companions were already seated, gingerly rubbing their wrists and blinking at the light. Only Mr Doyle appeared composed.

Jack sat on the bench next to the detective. His eyes roamed about the interior of the cell.

Scarlet looks tired
, he thought.

But she also looked defiant. Her eyes were greener than ever and her red hair blazed in the flickering light.

What an amazing girl
, Jack thought. Her father, on the other hand, seemed worried. Mr Harker looked irritated.

Jack stared at the man who had led him into the chamber. He was tall, with black hair and a curly moustache. He looked like a boxer.

Mr Doyle leaned back on the bench and crossed his legs. ‘Will you be so kind as to tell Mr Griffin that Ignatius Doyle requests the pleasure of his company?'

The man's eyes narrowed. ‘We'll ask the questions. You need only concern yourself with the answers.'

‘And I will happily supply those answers,' Mr Doyle replied. ‘But only to Mr Griffin.'

The man scowled and left the room, bolting the metal door behind him.

‘Where are we?' Scarlet asked. ‘Who are these people?'

‘As to our location,' Mr Doyle said, ‘I can think of only two possibilities. The first is that we have died and have descended to the depths of Hell, and can expect to face the lord of the underworld, Lucifer, at any moment.'

‘That's preposterous!' Mr Harker said.

‘I agree. In which case I believe the second possibility to be true. We are one hundred feet below the Tower of London, home of the Crown Jewels and the Josephine Diamonds.'

‘What?'

‘It is simplicity itself. I have based my assumption on the hours travelled, the differences in road quality, the sounds from outside the truck and smells ranging from the fish market to a tannery three blocks from here.' He studied each of their faces in turn. ‘I know of one place which fulfils all those conditions. We are in the underground headquarters of British Military Intelligence, known commonly as MI5.'

‘MI5?' Joseph Bell repeated. ‘What could they possibly want with us?'

Mr Doyle laughed. ‘Surely that is obvious. They want to know everything we know about the growing Nazi threat—and they want to know about your organisation.'

‘The Phoenix Society,' Jack said.

‘Quiet boy,' Mr Harker warned.

‘Mr Harker mentioned it on the island,' Jack told his mentor. ‘It's some sort of secret club.'

‘I had guessed as much,' Mr Doyle said. ‘I'm sure it has existed for centuries. Certainly since the time of Leonardo da Vinci.'

His eyes settled on the two men.

Joseph Bell twisted uncomfortably on the bench. ‘Those answers will be forthcoming, I promise.'

Mr Harker gave him a dark look. ‘We are sworn to secrecy.'

‘The time has come,' Mr Bell interrupted him, ‘for the truth about the Phoenix Society to be told.'

‘I must agree with Mr Bell, Father,' Lucy Harker said. ‘You have lived a secret life all these years. We all need to know the truth. You are not associated with these Nazis, surely?'

‘Of course not,' Paul Harker said. ‘How they came to be involved is a mystery to me.'

‘But before we get to that,' Joseph Bell said, ‘I must ask how Mr Doyle was able to find us and coordinate our rescue.'

‘I am happy to relate the details.' Mr Doyle formed a steeple with his fingers. ‘After the airship took off from the London Metrotower with Scarlet, Jack and yourself aboard, Lucy and I retrieved my airship—the
Lion's Mane
—and followed you. I was terribly worried that Jack would lose consciousness and fall.

‘I pierced the side of the Nazi ship and I knew it would be forced to land. We searched the countryside at length and finally located the vessel. I did not know if any of you were dead or alive. I found the airship had not only been abandoned, but it had also been torched and destroyed. I admit I was rather baffled as to how to proceed until events took a turn for the better—we were set upon and kidnapped.'

‘By whom?' Scarlet said.

‘By members of the Phoenix Society.'

Mr Bell and Mr Harker glanced at each other.

‘Your organisation took matters into its own hands,' Ignatius Doyle informed the two men. ‘I was happy for us to be captured as it gave me an opportunity to gain more information.

‘We were taken aboard a steamship which set sail from the west coast, and interrogated about our knowledge of Phoenix and the Nazis. Fortunately, we were able to convince them of our ignorance. As night fell, I was able to organise our escape from the holding cell. We set a fire to create a diversion. While the crew were busy putting it out, Lucy and I went to the bridge.

‘Lucy searched through some paperwork and found a map indicating the location of the Nazi hideout. It was most enterprising of her. We climbed onto the deck where the steam helicopter was in the process of lifting off. We overpowered the pilots and took over the machine. As you can imagine, it was a rather bumpy ride.' Mr Doyle smiled at the recollection. ‘But we navigated our way to the island without too many problems. We had landed on the beach and begun a search of the landmass when we found you.'