Alex opened his eyes. So he was still alive! That was a nice surprise.
He was lying on a bed in a large, comfortable room. The bed was modern but the room was old, with beams running across the ceiling, a stone fireplace and narrow windows in ornate wooden frames. He had seen rooms like this in books when he was studying Shakespeare. He would have said the building was Elizabethan. It had to be somewhere in the country. There was no sound of traffic. Outside he could see trees.
Someone had undressed him. His school uniform was gone. Instead he was wearing loose pyjamas, silk from the feel of them. From the light outside he would have guessed it was early evening. He found his watch lying on the table beside the bed and he reached out for it. The time was twelve o’clock. It had been half-past four when he was shot with what must have been a drugged dart. He had lost a whole night and half a day.
There was a bathroom leading off the bedroom; bright white tiles and a huge shower behind a cylinder of glass and chrome. Alex stripped off the pyjamas and stood for five minutes under a jet of steaming water. He felt better after that.
He went back into the bedroom and opened the cupboard. Someone had been to his house in Chelsea. All his clothes were here, neatly hung up. He wondered what Crawley had told Jack. Presumably he would have made up some story to explain his sudden disappearance. He took out a pair of Gap combat trousers, a Nike sweatshirt and trainers, got dressed, then sat on the bed and waited.
About fifteen minutes later there was a knock and the door opened.
A young Asian woman in a nurse’s uniform came in, beaming.
“Oh, you’re awake. And dressed. How are you feeling? Not too groggy, I hope. Please come this way. Mr Blunt is expecting you for lunch.”
Alex hadn’t spoken a word to her. He followed her out of the room,
along a corridor and down a flight of stairs. The house was indeed Elizabethan, with wooden panels along the corridors, ornate chandeliers and oil paintings of old, bearded men in tunics and ruffs. The stairs led down into a tall, galleried room with a rug spread out over flagstones and a fireplace big enough to park a car in. A long, polished wooden table had been laid for three. Alan Blunt and a dark, rather masculine woman unwrapping a sweet were already sitting down. Mrs Blunt?
“Alex.” Blunt smiled briefly, as if it was something he didn’t enjoy doing. “It’s good of you to join us.”
Alex sat down. “You didn’t give me a lot of choice.”
“Yes. I don’t quite know what Crawley was thinking of, shooting you like that, but I suppose it was the easiest way. May I introduce my colleague, Mrs Jones.”
The woman nodded at Alex. Her eyes seemed to examine him minutely, but she said nothing.
“Who are you?” Alex asked. “What do you want with me?”
“I’m sure you have a great many questions. But first, let’s eat.” Blunt must have pressed a hidden button, or else he was being overheard, for at that precise moment a door opened and a waiter – in white jacket and black trousers – appeared carrying three plates. “I hope you eat meat,” Blunt continued. “Today it’s carré d’agneau.”
“You mean, roast lamb.” “The chef is French.”
Alex waited until the food had been served. Blunt and Mrs Jones drank red wine. He stuck to water. Finally, Blunt began.
“As I’m sure you’ve gathered,” he said, “the Royal & General is not a bank. In fact it doesn’t exist … it’s nothing more than a cover. And it follows, of course, that your uncle had nothing to do with banking. He worked for me. My name, as I told you at the funeral, is Blunt. I am Chief Executive of the Special Operations Division of MI6. And your uncle was, for want of a better word, a spy.”
Alex couldn’t help smiling. “You mean … like James Bond?” “Similar, although we don’t go in for numbers. Double O and all the
rest of it. He was a field agent, highly trained and very courageous. He successfully completed assignments in Iran, Washington, Hong Kong and Cairo – to name but a few. I imagine this must come as a bit
of a shock to you.”
Alex thought about the dead man, what he had known of him. His privacy. His long absences abroad. And the times he had come home injured. A bandaged arm one time. A bruised face another. Little accidents, Alex had been told. But now it all made sense. “I’m not shocked,” he said.
Blunt cut a neat slice of meat. “Ian Rider’s luck ran out on his last mission,” he went on. “He had been working undercover here in England, in Cornwall, and was driving back to London to make a report when he was killed. You saw his car at the yard.”
“Stryker & Son,” Alex muttered. “Who are they?”
“Just people we use. We have budget restraints. We have to contract some of our work out. Mrs Jones here is our Head of Special Operations. She gave your uncle his last assignment.”
“We’re very sorry to have lost him, Alex.” The woman spoke for the first time. She didn’t sound very sorry at all.
“Do you know who killed him?” “Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me?” “No. Not now.”
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t need to know. Not at this stage.”
“All right.” Alex put down his knife and fork. He hadn’t actually eaten anything. “My uncle was a spy. Thanks to you he’s dead. I found out too much, so you knocked me out and brought me here. Where am I, by the way?”
“This is one of our training centres,” Mrs Jones said.
“You’ve brought me here because you don’t want me to tell anyone what I know. Is that what this is all about? Because if it is, I’ll sign the Official Secrets Act or whatever it is you want me to do, but then I’d like to go home. This is all crazy anyway. And I’ve had enough. I’m out of here.”
Blunt coughed quietly. “It’s not quite as easy as that,” he said. “Why not?”
“It’s certainly true that you did draw attention to yourself both at
the breaker’s yard and then at our offices on Liverpool Street. And it’s also true that what you know and what I’m about to tell you must go no further. But the fact of the matter is, Alex, we need your help.”
“My help?”
“Yes.” He paused. “Have you heard of a man called Herod Sayle?” Alex thought for a moment. “I’ve seen his name in the newspapers.
He’s something to do with computers. And he owns racehorses. Doesn’t he come from somewhere in Egypt?”
“No. From the Lebanon.” Blunt took a sip of wine. “Let me tell you his story, Alex. I’m sure you’ll find it of interest…
“Herod Sayle was born in complete poverty in the back streets of Beirut. His father was a failed hairdresser. His mother took in washing. He had nine brothers and four sisters, all living together in three small rooms along with the family goat. Young Herod never went to school and he should have ended up unemployed, unable to read or write, like the rest of his family.
“But when he was seven, something occurred that changed his life. He was walking down Olive Street, in the middle of Beirut, when he happened to see an upright piano fall out of a fourteenth-storey window. Apparently it was being moved and it somehow overturned. Anyway, there were a couple of American tourists walking along the pavement below and they would both have been crushed – no doubt about it – except that at the last minute Herod threw himself at them and pushed them out of the way. The piano missed them by a millimetre.
“Of course, they were enormously grateful to the young waif, and it now turned out that they were very rich. They made enquiries about him and discovered how poor he was … the very clothes he was wearing had been passed down by all nine of his brothers. And so, out of gratitude, they more or less adopted him. Flew him out of Beirut and put him into a school over here, where he made astonishing progress. He got nine O-levels and – here’s an amazing coincidence – at the age of fifteen he actually found himself sitting next to a boy who would grow up to become Prime Minister of Great Britain. Our present Prime Minister, in fact. The two of them were at school together.
“I’ll move quickly forward. After school, Sayle went to Cambridge, where he got a first in Economics. He then set out on a career that
went from success to success. His own radio station, record label, computer software … and, yes, he even found time to buy a string of racehorses, although for some reason they always seem to come last. But what drew him to our attention was his most recent invention. A quite revolutionary computer which he calls the Stormbreaker.”
Stormbreaker. Alex remembered the file he had found in Ian Rider’s office. Things were beginning to come together.
“The Stormbreaker is being manufactured by Sayle Enterprises,” Mrs Jones said. “There’s been a lot of talk about the design. It has a black keyboard and black casing—”
“With a lightning bolt going down the side,” Alex said. He had seen a picture of it in PC Review.
“It doesn’t only look different,” Blunt cut in. “It’s based on a completely new technology. It uses something called the round processor. I don’t suppose that will mean anything to you.”
“It’s an integrated circuit on a sphere of silicon about one millimetre in diameter,” Alex said. “It’s ninety per cent cheaper to produce than an ordinary chip because the whole thing is sealed in, so you don’t need clean rooms for production.”
“Oh. Yes…” Blunt coughed. “Well, the point is, later today, Sayle Enterprises are going to make a quite remarkable announcement. They are planning to give away tens of thousands of these computers. In fact, it is their intention to ensure that every secondary school in Britain gets its own Stormbreaker. It’s an unparalleled act of generosity, Sayle’s way of thanking the country that gave him a home.”
“So the man’s a hero.”
“So it would seem. He wrote to Downing Street a few months ago:
“My Dear Prime Minister
You may remember me from our school-days together. For almost forty years I have lived in England and I wish to make a gesture, something that will never be forgotten, to express my true feelings towards your country.
“The letter went on to describe the gift and was signed Yours humbly, by the man himself. Of course, the whole Government was cock-a-hoop.
“The computers are being assembled at the Sayle plant down in
Port Tallon, Cornwall. They’ll be shipped across the country at the end of this month and on April 1st there’s to be a special ceremony at the Science Museum in London. The Prime Minister is going to press the button that will bring all the computers on-line … the whole lot of them. And – this is top secret by the way – Mr Sayle is to be rewarded with British citizenship, which is apparently something he has always wanted.”
“Well, I’m very happy for him,” Alex said. “But you still haven’t told me what this has got to do with me.”
Blunt glanced at Mrs Jones, who had finished her meal while he was talking. She unwrapped another peppermint and took over.
“For some time now, our department – Special Operations – has been concerned about Mr Sayle. The fact of the matter is, we’ve been wondering if he isn’t too good to be true. I won’t go into all the details, Alex, but we’ve been looking at his business dealings … he has contacts in China and the former Soviet Union; countries that have never been our friends. The Government may think he’s a saint, but there’s a ruthless side to him too. And the security arrangements down at Port Tallon worry us. He’s more or less got his own private army. He’s acting as if he’s got something to hide.”
“Not that anyone will listen,” Blunt muttered.
“Exactly. The Government’s too keen to get their hands on these computers to listen to us. That was why we decided to send our own man down to the plant. Supposedly to check on security. But in fact his job was to keep an eye on Herod Sayle.”
“You’re talking about my uncle,” Alex said. Ian Rider had told him that he was going to an insurance convention. Another lie in a life that had been nothing but lies.
“Yes. He was there for three weeks and, like us, he didn’t exactly take to Mr Sayle. In his first reports, he described him as short- tempered and unpleasant. But at the same time, he had to admit that everything seemed to be fine. Production was on schedule. The Stormbreakers were coming off the line. And everyone seemed to be happy.
“But then we got a message. Rider couldn’t say very much because it was an open line, but he told us that something had happened. He said he’d discovered something. That the Stormbreakers mustn’t leave the plant and that he was coming up to London at once. He left Port
Tallon at four o’clock. He never even got to the motorway. He was ambushed in a quiet country lane. The local police found the car. We arranged for it to be brought up here.”
Alex sat in silence. He could imagine it. A twisting lane with the trees just in blossom. The silver BMW gleaming as it raced past. And, round a corner, a second car waiting… “Why are you telling me all this?” he asked.
“It proves what we were saying,” Blunt replied. “We have our doubts about Sayle, so we send a man down. Our best man. He finds out something and he ends up dead. Maybe Rider discovered the truth
—”
“But I don’t understand!” Alex interrupted. “Sayle is giving away the computers. He’s not making any money out of them. In return he’s getting British citizenship. Fine! What’s he got to hide?”
“We don’t know,” Blunt said. “We just don’t know. But we want to find out. And soon. Before these computers leave the plant.”
“They’re being shipped out on 31st March,” Mrs Jones added. “Only about two weeks from now.” She glanced at Blunt. He nodded. “That’s why it’s essential for us to send someone else to Port Tallon. Someone to continue where your uncle left off.”
Alex smiled queasily. “I hope you’re not looking at me.”
“We can’t just send in another agent,” Mrs Jones said. “The enemy has shown his hand. He’s killed Rider. He’ll be expecting a replacement. Somehow we have to trick him.”
“We have to send in someone who won’t be noticed,” Blunt continued. “Someone who can look around and report back without being seen themselves. We were considering sending down a woman. She might be able to slip in as a secretary or receptionist. But then I had a better idea.
“A few months ago, one of these computer magazines ran a competition. Be the first boy or girl to use the Stormbreaker. Travel to Port Tallon and meet Herod Sayle himself. That was the first prize – and it was won by some young chap who’s apparently a bit of a whizz-kid when it comes to computers. Name of Felix Lester. Fourteen years old. The same age as you. He looks a bit like you too. He’s expected down at Port Tallon less than two weeks from now.”
“Wait a minute—”
“You’ve already shown yourself to be extraordinarily brave and resourceful,” Blunt said. “First of all at the breaker’s yard … that was a karate kick, wasn’t it? How long have you been learning karate?” Alex didn’t answer, so he went on. “And then there was that little test we arranged for you at the bank. Any boy who would climb out of a fifteenth-floor window just to satisfy his own curiosity has to be rather special, and it seems to me that you are very special indeed.”
“What we’re suggesting is that you come and work for us,” Mrs Jones said. “We have enough time to give you some basic training – not that you’ll need it, probably – and we can equip you with a few items that may help you with what we have in mind. Then we’ll arrange for you to take the place of this other boy. You’ll go to Sayle Enterprises on 29th March. That’s when this Lester boy is expected. You’ll stay there until 1st April, which is the day of the ceremony. The timing couldn’t be better. You’ll be able to meet Herod Sayle, keep an eye on him and tell us what you think. Perhaps you’ll also find out what it was that your uncle discovered and why he had to die. You shouldn’t be in any danger. After all, who would suspect a fourteen- year-old boy of being a spy?”
“All we’re asking you to do is report back to us,” Blunt said. “That’s all we want. Two weeks of your time. A chance to make sure these computers are everything they’re cracked up to be. A chance to serve your country.”
Blunt had finished his dinner. His plate was completely clean, as if there had never been any food on it at all. He put down his knife and fork, laying them precisely side by side. “All right, Alex,” he said. “So what do you say?”
There was a long pause.
Blunt was watching him with polite interest. Mrs Jones was unwrapping yet another peppermint, her black eyes seemingly fixed on the twist of paper in her hands.
“No,” Alex said. “I’m sorry?”
“It’s a dumb idea. I don’t want to be a spy. I want to be a footballer. Anyway, I have a life of my own.” He found it difficult to choose the right words. The whole thing was so preposterous he almost wanted to laugh. “Why don’t you ask this Felix Lester to snoop around for you?”
“We don’t believe he’d be as resourceful as you,” Blunt said.
“He’s probably better at computer games.” Alex shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m just not interested. I don’t want to get involved.”
“That’s a pity,” Blunt said. His tone of voice hadn’t changed but there was a heavy, dead quality to the words. And there was something different, too, about him. Throughout the meal he had been polite; not friendly, but at least human. In an instant, that had disappeared. Alex thought of a toilet chain being pulled. The human part of him had just been flushed away.
“Then we’d better move on to discuss your future,” he continued. “Like it or not, Alex, the Royal & General is now your legal guardian.”
“I thought you said the Royal & General didn’t exist.”
Blunt ignored him. “Ian Rider has of course left the house and all his money to you. However, he left it in trust until you are twenty- one. And we control that trust. So there will, I’m afraid, have to be some changes. The American girl who lives with you.”
“Jack?”
“Miss Starbright. Her visa has expired. She’ll be returned to America. We propose to put the house on the market. Unfortunately, you have no relatives to look after you, so I’m afraid that also means you’ll have to leave Brookland. You’ll be sent to an institution. There’s one I know just outside Birmingham. The Saint Elizabeth in Sourbridge. Not a very pleasant place, but I’m afraid there’s no alternative.”
“You’re blackmailing me!” Alex exclaimed. “Not at all.”
“But if I agree to do what you ask…?”
Blunt glanced at Mrs Jones. “Help us and we’ll help you,” she said.
Alex considered, but not for very long. He had no choice and he knew it. Not when these people controlled his money, his present life, his entire future. “You talked about training,” he said.
Mrs Jones nodded. “That’s why we brought you here, Alex. This is a training centre. If you agree to what we want, we can start at once.”
“Start at once.” Alex spoke the three words without liking the sound of them. Blunt and Mrs Jones were waiting for his answer. He sighed. “Yeah. All right. It doesn’t look like I’ve got very much choice.”
He glanced at the slices of cold lamb on his plate. Dead meat.
Suddenly he knew how it felt.
