The Medusa Project: The Hostage

  Oh, God. My head swam, remembering the way I’d lied to Geri before. I closed my eyes. There was only one way through this. One way to make sure Lex was safe.

  This time, I was going to have to tell her the whole truth.

  ‘No . . .’ I said, slowly, opening my eyes again. ‘Foster kidnapped Lex yesterday, before I told you about the visions. He did it to blackmail me . . . he . . . he made me lie about the bombs at the two hospitals.’

  There was a tense silence.

  ‘You mean you made up a vision? Two visions?’ Geri spluttered. ‘You knew from the start there was no bomb at Linhurst Hospital? That the real target was Gayton? That your brother wasn’t in France?’

  ‘Yes . . .’ I hesitated.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me, for God’s sake?’

  ‘Because of Lex . . . Foster said he was going to kill Lex if I didn’t do what he said.’

  ‘So your response to this was to lie to me?’ Geri sucked in her breath. ‘D’you have any idea how much manpower was invested in attempting to protect Linhurst Hospital – all based on my recommendations following your supposed insights? Not to mention the waste of resources in getting Interpol to try and track down your brother?’

  ‘Yes, I’m sorry.’ My heart was sinking. ‘But . . . but it proves my visions do work. And this latest one . . . it shows where my brother is. He’s at our school and—’

  ‘Foster knows where you go to school?’ Geri snapped. ‘How?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ I said. ‘But he’d heard about Medusa already, so—’

  ‘He knows about the Medusa Project as well?’

  ‘He doesn’t know much,’ I said, trying to reassure her. ‘He was asking me questions.’

  ‘And you still didn’t think to tell me any of this?’ Geri’s voice burned with rage.

  ‘No, and I’m sorry, but the thing is, Foster is taking Lex to our school now and—’

  ‘Foster is on his way to Fox Academy?’ Geri sounded doubtful.

  ‘No,’ I admitted. ‘He . . . he isn’t taking Lex himself. He’s making this man called Soames take him. We . . . I was with Foster earlier and—’

  ‘You met with Foster this evening? Where? When?’ Geri now sounded incredulous.

  ‘We saw him in Hampstead Heath about an hour ago.’

  ‘We . . . you mean you’re with Nico and Ed and Dylan?’ Geri’s voice rose to a shriek. ‘And none of you had the sense to tell me anything about any of this?’

  Oh shit, oh shit. Now I’d got everyone else into trouble as well. ‘I was trying to protect my brother. The others were just helping. Please don’t be cross with them.’

  I stared helplessly round at the others. Ed was staring at the pavement. Nico offered me a sympathetic smile. Dylan rolled her eyes.

  ‘Ketty, I am beyond disappointed in you,’ Geri snapped. ‘And all this will have to be dealt with, but right now I’m nowhere near your school. We’ve had a solid lead on Foster and the Rainbow bomb. We told Foster earlier we weren’t going to release his brother and he’s responded by announcing that the Rainbow bomb will go off this evening in a central London location. Because of my initial involvement through you, the powers that be want me at our HQ, near to where we’re expecting Foster.’

  ‘But what about Lex?’ I insisted.

  ‘When does what you saw in the vision happen?’ Geri snapped.

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘Sometime this evening.’

  ‘I’ll have an agent sent over to keep an eye out for this man – Soames – who you say you saw in your vision,’ Geri went on.

  ‘I didn’t actually see Soames,’ I said, trying to explain. ‘Lex just said Soames had brought him to the school and chained him in the music room in the basement.’

  ‘Why would Foster divert manpower to something so pointless?’ Geri’s sceptical tone echoed Dylan’s earlier. ‘Look, you said yourself you don’t know when this vision happens. It all sounds a bit hazy.’

  ‘It isn’t,’ I insisted.

  Geri cleared her throat. ‘Where are you?’

  ‘Near King’s Cross station.’

  ‘Well, get back to school straight away. I’ll call ahead and explain to Fergus what you’ve seen – tell him my agent is on his way. We’ll talk later.’ Geri hung up.

  I turned to the others. ‘She’s sending some agent to the school but I’m not sure she even believes Lex will be there.’

  ‘It does seem kinda weird.’ Dylan wrinkled her nose.

  Nico took his phone back. ‘I’m calling Fergus.’ We walked to King’s Cross tube while Nico had a brief conversation with his stepdad. We could all hear Mr Fox ranting on the other end. My heart sank still further. Nico and the others were going to be in so much trouble and it was all my fault.

  Nico ended the call. ‘Well, that was fun,’ he said.

  ‘What did he say about Lex?’ I asked.

  ‘He was so angry he hardly even listened, but once Geri’s agent arrives he’s going to take him to check the basement music room.’

  ‘Just him and the agent?’ I asked. ‘Supposing Soames is lying in wait for him?’

  ‘Why would Foster have Soames do that?’ Dylan butted in. ‘I think you’re losing perspective, Ketty. Foster wants to send a message to the British Government, not to the head teacher of a boarding school.’

  ‘But it’s our school,’ I went on.

  Ed cleared his throat. ‘Maybe that’s why Foster has had Lex taken there. To show he knows where we’re based. To unnerve everyone.’

  This was the first thing anyone had said that made sense. I kept going over it as we went into King’s Cross station and got on a train.

  Mr Fox met us at the other end. He was clearly livid, his face almost purple with rage.

  ‘How dare you leave school without permission?’ he roared. ‘How dare you meet a known criminal without even telling me or Geri that he had contacted you? I’ve stuck my neck out for you four over these missions she’s making you do and instead of thanking me you go off on your own, putting your lives at even greater risk. It’s completely unacceptable behaviour.’

  I hung my head. It was one thing Geri being cross, but I hated upsetting Mr Fox – he’d always tried to look out for me . . . for us.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ I looked up, feeling guilty now, as well as hugely anxious about Lex. ‘Did you go down to the basement music room?’

  ‘Yes,’ Mr Fox snapped. ‘There’s no sign of your brother, but all external doors have been double locked and the agent Geri sent over is keeping guard near the front door.’

  I frowned, wishing I knew when Lex and Soames were arriving.

  Five minutes later and we were back at school. The place was quiet – 9.30 p.m. was the curfew for getting back on a school night – and all the students were either in the common rooms or their dorms.

  ‘I thought you said the agent Geri sent was at the front of the school?’ Nico said as we entered the main hall.

  Mr Fox looked round, perplexed.

  ‘Maybe he heard something and went to investigate,’ I said.

  ‘Look!’ Ed pointed to the reception room door to the left of the big fireplace.

  A body lay in the doorway. It was James, the agent who’d been with Maria when she’d driven us to the Fostergames office car park.

  Mr Fox knelt down and felt the man’s pulse. ‘He’s alive, but unconscious. Stay put, I’m calling for help.’ He went inside the reception room.

  ‘This means Soames must be here.’ I glanced at the others. ‘I have to get down to the music room. Find Lex.’

  ‘But Soames could still be with him.’ Ed blanched.

  ‘I can deal with Soames.’ Nico took my hand. ‘Come on.’

  We raced along the corridor. Down the steps towards the canteen then left towards the science block. As we descended to the basement I glanced over my shoulder. Dylan and Ed were right behind us.

  I jumped the last few steps and flew along the corridor. It was dark, just like in my
vision. No time to waste switching on the light. My pulse raced. This was it. We were nearly there.

  Down some more stairs. A right turn. A left.

  I stopped, panting, in front of the music room door. Nico skidded to a stop beside me. He braced himself. I pushed open the door.

  Lex was alone. He stood on the other side of the room, a scarf round his mouth, his left wrist chained to a radiator. I ran over, my heart pounding. He looked terrified, his eyes wild. As soon as he saw me, he mumbled something behind his gag. I yanked at the scarf, desperate to free his mouth. As I pulled the binding away I remembered what I needed to ask.

  ‘What’s the day?’

  ‘What?’ Lex’s eyes were wild and unfocused. ‘Listen, Ket—’

  ‘Tell me the day and time.’ Weird though it was, I knew I had to make him say it so it would be in the vision I’d already had. I reminded myself to look round the room so I would recognise it in the vision too. There was the piano stool. There was the piano.

  Lex frowned. ‘It’s Thursday, late evening . . . I’ve got no idea what time . . . Listen, there’s a bomb—’

  ‘I know. Where’s Foster?’

  Lex glanced at the others, then back to me. ‘He wasn’t here. Soames brought me here. Listen, Ketty. There’s a bomb.’

  God, he looked so scared.

  ‘We know there’s a bomb. Geri’s onto it.’ Nico picked up the chain attached to Lex’s wrist. ‘This is going to need bolt cutters.’

  My eyes filled with tears of relief. I had found him. It was over. Whatever Foster did now, Lex was safe.

  ‘D’you know exactly where the bomb is?’ Dylan asked.

  ‘Yes.’ Lex grabbed my arm with his free hand. ‘Listen, Ketty, you have to get everyone out of here. Now.’

  ‘What?’ I frowned. ‘Why?’

  ‘It’s the bomb.’ Lex let go of my arm and lifted his jumper. A slim black box was strapped to his shirt.

  I stared at it. Beside me, Ed gasped.

  ‘This is the Rainbow bomb,’ Lex said. ‘And it’s programmed to explode in eight minutes.’

  23: Countdown

  The Rainbow bomb was sleek and black – the size of a pocket laptop. I stared at its smooth casing, taped tightly round Lex’s shirt. My heart pounded.

  ‘Well, let’s just take it off you.’ Nico reached out to unstrap the bomb.

  ‘No.’ Lex backed away. ‘There’s a trigger attached to the bomb. When Foster put this on me he explained that if anyone tried to take it off, the trigger would be released and the bomb would detonate immediately.’

  ‘Then how do we stop it?’ My guts were in free fall, a terrible tight feeling across my chest.

  ‘We have to call Geri. Get her to send bomb disposal,’ Nico said.

  ‘There’s no time,’ Lex said. ‘I saw the timer when Foster set the bomb. It’s below a panel on the underneath bit.’ He pointed to the bottom of the device. ‘I reckon there’s only a few minutes to go.’

  ‘No.’ My head was spinning. This couldn’t be happening.

  Ed bent down and examined the panel.

  ‘Ketty, please leave,’ Lex pleaded. ‘You have to save yourselves and there are other people here too – kids and teachers. They’ll be hurt when it goes off. You have to warn them.’

  ‘It’s not going to go off,’ I said.

  ‘We still have to tell Fergus,’ Nico said, his voice full of concern. ‘He can get everyone out . . . evacuate the school . . .’

  Dylan nodded. ‘Go.’

  Nico sped off.

  ‘Why is Foster doing this?’ I stared at Lex’s strained face. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I couldn’t lose him.

  ‘It’s his revenge for the government not releasing his brother,’ Lex said. ‘And on me for trying to sell him out to a journalist, I guess.’ He smiled. ‘Please go now, Ketty. This won’t be so bad as long as I know you’re safe.’

  ‘No.’ My eyes filled with tears. ‘No, I’m not leaving.’

  ‘There must be something we can try,’ Dylan insisted. ‘Some way of defusing the bomb. We’ve got enough powers between us . . . maybe you or Ed . . .?’

  I turned my face to the overhead panel light, blinking to bring on a vision. Perhaps if I focused hard enough I could find out what was going to happen. Work out what we needed to do.

  Flashing lights . . . a sweet, heavy smell . . .

  BOOM . . . a massive explosion . . . I’m turning . . . watching from a distance . . . Fox Academy in flames . . . smoke pouring up, into the sky . . .

  I snapped out of the vision. Oh my God. I froze. The bomb was going to go off.

  I’d seen it.

  ‘What?’ Dylan grabbed my arm. ‘What did you see?’

  ‘Nothing.’ I gritted my teeth. My heart might be dying but I wasn’t going to give up. I didn’t care what Ed had said before about alternate realities not existing. I wouldn’t believe everything was all mapped out in front of me.

  This was a future I had to change.

  ‘What about your ability, Dylan?’ I said. ‘Could you use your defence powers to protect Lex from the blast? You know, get between him and the blast somehow . . . lessen its impact?’

  She shook her head. ‘I could maybe resist some of the fallout – pieces of brick or whatever, but the force of the actual bomb would be way bigger than anything I’ve managed to protect myself from so far.’

  I turned to Ed. ‘How about if you mind-read Lex?’

  Ed was still examining the panel on the underside of the bomb. He glanced up at me. ‘That won’t help unless Lex knows how to defuse the bomb.’

  ‘Which I don’t,’ Lex added. ‘You have to get out of here, Ketty.’

  Ignoring him, I tried to focus. ‘What about the wires, Ed?’ I said, remembering the conversation we’d had before we went to the hospital. ‘Didn’t you tell me something about coloured wires?’

  ‘I think the wires are under this panel.’ Ed glanced up at us. ‘Shall I try taking it off?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘When Ketty’s left the room,’ Lex said.

  ‘I’m not going any—’

  ‘For God’s sake, get on with it,’ Dylan snapped.

  A tense silence. Ed eased off the panel at the base of the bomb. Together we bent down and examined what was underneath.

  Seven coloured wires were strung along the underside of the bomb. Beside them was a small keypad. Above that, the timer – the numbers displayed in red – was counting down in minutes and seconds.

  04.45

  04.44

  04.43

  Oh, God.

  Ed bit his lip.

  ‘What does it say?’ Dylan asked.

  I looked up. ‘We’ve got about four and a half minutes.’

  ‘It’ll be a big explosion,’ Lex added, his voice shaking. ‘Bring down half the school. That’s why you all need to leave now.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Please, Ketty. If I could walk away from you I would.’ Lex held up his wrist, still chained to the radiator. ‘But I can’t, so you have to walk away from me.’

  ‘No.’ My eyes filled with tears. I turned to Ed. ‘Didn’t you tell me you have to cut the wires in a specific order?’

  ‘Yes.’ Ed rubbed his forehead. ‘The order of the colours of the rainbow. Red then orange then yellow then . . .’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ I said. ‘I’ll cut the wires.’

  Ed stared at me. ‘But suppose the bomb goes off while you’re doing it? Suppose just cutting the wires isn’t enough?’

  ‘It’s going to go off anyway,’ Dylan said. ‘Ketty’s right. We have to try.’

  ‘You can’t, Ketty. Please.’ Lex’s own eyes were filling up now, his whole body trembling. ‘Think of Mum and Dad . . . they can’t lose both of us.’

  I looked round the room. There was nothing to cut the wires with in here.

  ‘We need pliers,’ Dylan said.

  I checked the timer. 04.21 . . . 04.20 . . . 04.19 . . .

  I met D
ylan’s eye and the same idea hit both of us at the same instant.

  ‘The tech room,’ she said.

  ‘Come on.’

  We raced through the dark corridor. Nico was flying down the stairs towards us as we reached the first set of steps.

  ‘Fergus is evacuating the school,’ he said. ‘He told me to make you go upstairs now.’

  ‘You go,’ I said to Dylan. ‘Nico can get Ed. I’ll handle the wires on my own.’ I pushed past them and up the steps.

  I could hear them talking behind me. Then footsteps. I glanced round. Dylan was chasing after me. I didn’t say anything as we raced along the ground floor. The fire alarm suddenly screeched out. A loud voice yelled over the top of it.

  ‘Uncle Fergus,’ Dylan said.

  We could hear him in the distance. ‘Hurry to the Top Field. Now. Hurry.’

  We ran past the science labs and burst, panting, through the art room door. I raced across to the tech room.

  ‘How much time d’you think we have?’ I said.

  Dylan shook her head. ‘Under three minutes.’

  I looked round, frantic.

  ‘There.’ A row of pliers was ranged inside a glass cabinet that stood against the far wall.

  I raced over. The door was locked.

  ‘Oh shit.’ I looked round for a key, panic filling my head.

  Smash. Dylan’s fist broke the glass door. She yanked out a pair of pliers. I stared at her hand. Not a scratch.

  ‘Come on.’ She turned and raced back.

  The corridors were full of people now. Sleepy younger kids trailing dressing gowns and older ones giggling excitedly. They had no idea what was about to happen.

  ‘Hurry,’ I kept saying as we pushed past them. ‘Get out of the building.’

  We pelted down the first set of stairs. As we ran along the dark corridor below I had a sudden sense of déjà vu from one of my first visions when I’d seen myself running and running. Foster’s voice had been in my head. Rick, he’d said. It’s all about Rick.

  Down the second set of stairs. How much time was left?

  We ran, panting, back into the music room. Lex was leaning against the wall, his face drained of colour. Nico was beside him, Ed kneeling, still examining the Rainbow wires.

  ‘Ketty, please go,’ Lex pleaded.