The Medusa Project: The Hostage

  My stomach twisted into a knot. Blake Carson was the man Jack Linden had sold us out to. He was a weapons dealer who’d wanted to buy the Medusa gene formula, then sell it on to criminals around the world. He’d even planned to take Nico with him as proof that the formula worked.

  ‘You know Carson?’ I said, my voice trembling.

  ‘I know of him – there were some pretty interesting rumours circulating around the time of his arrest a few weeks ago. Something about a group of teenagers with psychic powers working for the government. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but after our little run-in at the Rufus Stone, I spoke to a contact of mine inside the security services. He confirmed the rumour was true. You’re part of an experiment called the Medusa Project, headed by a government agent called Geri Paterson.’

  I stared at Foster, as the rain plastered my hair to my head.

  ‘Stop,’ Lex insisted. ‘Let Ketty go.’

  ‘Out of interest, have all three of your little friends gone to the car park to steal my schematic?’ Foster raised his gun, so the cold metal pressed against my neck.

  I nodded, shuddering. ‘But two agents are following them . . .’ I added. ‘They’re protected.’

  Foster narrowed his eyes. ‘Do they all have telekinetic powers?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes . . . no . . . I mean, yes . . .’ Shit. Shit. Shit. What should I say? What was most likely to keep them safe? I couldn’t think straight.

  Foster pulled out his phone. ‘Soames?’ he snapped. ‘Where are you?’

  Soames said something I couldn’t hear.

  Foster turned. ‘Get to the Fostergames car park. Now. Some kids have found the schematic. Go.’ A pause, while Soames presumably said something. ‘Watch out for the two agents shadowing them . . . I expect the kids’ll be on the street by now,’ Foster went on. ‘There’s a boy. About fifteen. Dark hair and eyes.’ He paused again, pressing the gun harder against my neck. ‘Describe the others.’

  I wanted to lie but my mind couldn’t work out what to say. ‘Er . . . a girl with long legs and long red hair. She’s in jeans. And, er . . . another boy. Tall with sandy hair. He’s wearing chinos.’ Oh, God . . . oh, God . . .

  Foster repeated my description. ‘Where will the two agents be?’ he demanded.

  ‘I don’t know . . .’ I looked away. According to the plan, Maria and the other agent were going to move away from the area as soon as they’d successfully distracted the car park security officers. If Nico and the others had left the car park, Maria would also be on her way – to the rendezvous point in Camden. I looked back at Foster.

  He was studying me carefully, his keen grey eyes piercing me through.

  ‘Soames, your priority is to retrieve the flash drive containing the schematic without being spotted by the two agents shadowing the kids.’ He pressed his phone to loudspeaker. ‘Soames, do you copy?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ I recognised Soames’s voice instantly. He was definitely the man Foster had been talking to in Lex’s recording. ‘What do you want me to do when I see them?’

  I held my breath.

  Foster turned to me. ‘What can they do to him?’ he said. ‘What powers do they have?’

  ‘Nothing,’ I stammered, not wanting to give the others away. ‘I don’t know.’

  Foster swore.

  ‘Tell him, Ketty,’ Lex pleaded.

  ‘Listen to your brother.’ Foster cocked his gun and pointed it at Lex. ‘Or watch him die.’

  Shit. ‘Telekinesis, mind-reading, and defence shield,’ I said quickly.

  Foster considered this for a second, then turned back to his phone.

  ‘Shoot the little bastards on sight.’

  12: The hostage

  ‘No.’ My whole body was shaking now. This couldn’t really be happening. ‘Please, don’t do this. Please.’

  I was still holding my mobile in my hand. I stood, rigid. There must be some way of stopping Foster. I twisted round a little, so I could see his face. His eyes were hard and grey, like tiny pebbles.

  ‘Please,’ I said again. ‘I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t kill them.’

  Foster stared at me for a second. Then his eyes flickered back to the text on my phone.

  Lex was still standing in the rain, shivering . . . watching . . .

  ‘This “N” your text’s from,’ Foster said. ‘Is that Nico? Is that your boyfriend? The one I met at the Rufus Stone?’

  ‘Yes,’ I sobbed. ‘Please don’t hurt him.’

  Foster considered the text again. ‘When he says “soz 2”, what’s he sorry about?’ he asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ I said. Why was Foster asking that? ‘Nothing – just a stupid row.’

  Foster hesitated a second. Then he raised his phone to his mouth again. ‘Soames?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ came the muffled reply.

  ‘Change of plan,’ he said. ‘Can you see the kids?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Soames said. ‘They’re just outside Fostergames, like you said.’

  ‘Where are they going?’ Foster demanded. The cold metal of his gun pressed against my neck.

  ‘Leicester Square tube,’ I said, my heart pounding.

  ‘Did you hear that, Soames?’ Foster said.

  ‘Yes, sir. I need to move fast. They’ll be in a crowded area in less than a minute.’

  ‘Hold fire.’ Foster pointed with his gun to my phone. ‘Call him. And put your phone on speaker.’

  I stared at him. ‘Call who?’

  ‘Your boyfriend. “Nico”. Tell him you’re sorry about whatever it is too and that all three of them are to wait for you at Leicester Square station. You’ll meet them there.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I’ll explain in a minute.’

  ‘No.’ My voice rose. I couldn’t put the others in any more danger. ‘No.’

  ‘You’ve got three seconds to dial, or I’m ordering Soames to shoot. Three.’

  ‘Wait.’ I lifted my mobile. Hesitated.

  ‘Two.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll do it.’ Hands shaking, I put my mobile on loudspeaker and dialled Nico.

  ‘Remember, make sure all three of them wait for you,’ Foster cautioned.

  Nico’s phone rang. ‘Babe?’ he said. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

  ‘I’m so, so sorry I didn’t tell Ed after I’d promised I would . . .’ I stopped, tears threatening to choke my voice.

  ‘Sssh. Where are you? Are you all right?’ Nico lowered his voice. ‘I’m sorry too, I was an arsehole earlier. I know Ed was upset. It’s just you promised—’

  ‘I know,’ I cut in, my eyes on Foster. He moved forwards a step and pressed his gun against Lex’s temple. ‘I’m really sorry, Nico.’

  I could hear Dylan’s voice in the background. ‘We need to go.’

  ‘Your vision worked, though, Ketts,’ Nico went on. ‘We went over the whole hut. Found the loose tile . . . Are you really all right?’

  ‘Course, I just needed to be on my own for a bit. I’m sorry I bailed on you earlier.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter. It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?’ He hesitated. ‘I really want to see you.’

  ‘Me too,’ I said. Foster was still staring at me, his eyes mean and hard, his gun still pressed against the side of Lex’s head. ‘I’m coming back. I don’t want to get into trouble. Wait for me at Leicester Square, yeah?’

  ‘Okay, but—’

  ‘All of you, Nico. Please, it’s important. I need to be sure you’ll all cover for me.’

  ‘Course we will. Well, me and Ed will def—’

  ‘Make Dylan wait too.’ I swallowed. ‘She’ll do it if you ask.’

  ‘Okay.’ Nico sounded uncertain. ‘Babe, are you sure everything’s all right. You sound weird.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ I hesitated. ‘I just had some thinking to do. See you in a bit.’

  I told Nico where to wait for me at Leicester Square then rang off and turned to Foster. ‘I don’t understand,’ I said. ‘What’s this
about?’

  A thin smile curled round Foster’s lips. He raised his phone again. ‘Soames, change of plan. Don’t approach the kids. Let them go.’

  I waited. The rain stopped. Foster lowered his gun. He looked from me to Lex.

  ‘Don’t hurt Ketty,’ Lex pleaded.

  I pushed my soaking hair off my face. ‘What do you want me to do?’

  ‘I want you to erase the contents of the flash drive your friends have just found,’ Foster said.

  ‘What?’ I frowned. ‘How am I supposed to do that? Geri’ll pounce on us as soon as we’re back, demanding a debrief.’

  ‘Is Lex your only brother?’ Foster asked.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I have a brother, too,’ Foster said. ‘Rick. It’s a special bond.’

  I frowned. Foster had mentioned a brother before. ‘What’s having a brother got to do with this?’ I asked.

  ‘Rick’s in jail for a crime he didn’t commit,’ Foster said. ‘I’ve spent the past year paying lawyers to build an appeal which hasn’t worked. Hundreds of thousands of pounds . . . me and my company up to our eyes in debt . . . for nothing.’

  I stared at him, remembering what Geri had told us earlier. ‘So that’s why you need the Rainbow bomb,’ I said. ‘You’re going to sell it so you can pay off your debts.’

  ‘What I’m planning to do with the Rainbow is none of your business,’ Foster went on. ‘All you need to worry about is deleting what’s on that flash drive.’

  ‘How?’ I said.

  ‘If your brother means as much to you as mine does to me, you’ll find a way,’ Foster said, softly. ‘Remember, I don’t want the stick itself destroyed, just the contents got rid of.’

  ‘What if I refuse?’ I said, my throat tightening. I was suddenly aware of how cold I was – my clothes clinging to me, damp against my skin.

  ‘You won’t,’ Foster said, smoothly. ‘And you won’t go behind my back to anyone, either. As I told you before, I’ve got a source in the government security agency, close to Geri Paterson, so I’ll know straight away if you tell her what I’m really planning.’

  Foster paused, shifting his gaze to Lex. ‘It’s simple. If Geri Paterson finds out, then I’ll kill your brother – and come after the four of you.’

  13: The schematic

  I don’t know how I made it back to Leicester Square. I was too shocked to think straight, acting on autopilot. Foster was holding my brother hostage – and if I didn’t do what he demanded, Lex would die.

  But how on earth was I going to get the flash drive the others had found – and delete the information that was on it?

  I fought my way down the escalators at the tube station. There was some delay on the Northern Line so the platform where I was meeting the others was packed. I looked round but I couldn’t see them.

  And then Nico appeared, weaving his way through the crowd towards me.

  He stopped just in front of me.

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  We both spoke at once. Then Nico hugged me. It was so good to feel his arms round me. For a second I almost told him what Foster had asked me to do. But I couldn’t. Suppose he insisted on telling Geri? After all, Foster was planning to sell a bomb which had the potential to kill thousands of people. If Nico spoke to Geri, Foster said his source would know straight away. And if the source told Foster, then Lex would be dead before anyone could attempt to rescue him.

  Guilt threaded its way through my head. Could I really put my brother’s life ahead of saving others? It was an impossible choice.

  ‘Man, I felt so bad when you got off the train earlier,’ Nico said. ‘And when I read your note I felt even worse. I’m . . . er, Ed’s got the flash drive . . . I’m sorry I was such an arse about him earlier.’

  ‘Me too,’ I said, pulling back from the hug. At some point I was going to have to sort everything between me and Nico and Ed out, but right now all I could think about was saving Lex.

  Nico smiled at me, but his eyes were anxious. ‘Are you really okay? You’re all wet.’

  I took a deep breath. ‘I’m fine, I’ve just been walking around. Come on, lets get back to the others.’

  Together we walked back through the commuter crowds. Ed glanced up at me, half smiling, though not properly meeting my eyes as usual.

  Dylan raised her eyebrows, all mock shocked. ‘Oh. My. God,’ she said with exaggerated emphasis. ‘It’s the Grunge Princess . . . oooh, we’re sooo honoured you’ve decided to turn up at last . . .’

  ‘Piss off.’ I was in no mood to deal with her attitude.

  ‘What did you say?’ Dylan’s mouth set in a grim line. She drew herself up. ‘Come here and say that again.’

  I gritted my teeth. God, she was a whole head taller than me. If she hit me I wouldn’t stand a chance. On the other hand, she’d been asking for a punch in the mouth ever since I’d met her. More people were crowding on the platform but I was only dimly aware of them. I clenched my fists, all my fear and frustration focused on Dylan’s green eyes.

  ‘I said you’re a rude cow. What you gonna do about it?’

  Dylan stared at me. She hadn’t moved a muscle, but I could see a flicker of fear in her eyes.

  ‘Ketty,’ Ed gasped.

  ‘If you two are going to fight,’ Nico grinned, ‘you’d make it a lot more fun for the rest of us if you’d just take your tops off.’

  ‘Shut up, Nico.’ I turned to Dylan. ‘Go on then, try and hit me.’ I raised my fists. ‘Just try.’

  Dylan hesitated for a second, then stuck her nose in the air and stalked off. Yanking her mp3 player out of her pocket, she disappeared behind a knot of tourists jostling round a tube map.

  A train rumbled into the station.

  ‘Wow,’ Nico said, a note of admiration in his voice. ‘You really were pissed off.’ I smiled at him, feeling better than before. We got on the tube. It was as crowded as the platform – just three seats available in the whole carriage. A couple of doors down Dylan was getting on. She took the seat furthest away from us, turning heads as she sashayed towards it in her jeans and cropped jumper. Ed sat down at the end of the nearest row. The only other vacant space was opposite him.

  ‘D’you wanna sit down?’ Nico asked, gruffly.

  I nodded gratefully and scooted into the seat. The tube train set off. I glanced at the station list above the seats and my sense of feeling better drained away. In just six stops we’d be at Camden – where Maria would be waiting for us, demanding to see the flash drive the others had found . . .

  My palms were clammy with sweat and my top still felt damp against my skin. I glanced along the carriage. Nico was standing a few metres away in the gap between the seat sections, bent over his phone. Dylan had jammed in her headphones and was listening to music. Loud music. Even from here I could hear its insistent beat thudding round the carriage.

  I looked over at Ed opposite. He had his nose deep in some book. I leaned forwards and tapped him on the knee.

  His head jerked up, reddening as he almost caught my eye.

  ‘How did it go in the hut in Foster’s car park?’ I said.

  ‘Fine, I guess,’ Ed muttered. ‘Nico got us in past the lock on the door, while Dylan made snotty remarks about everything.’

  ‘About me?’

  ‘About everything,’ Ed said firmly. ‘I asked Nico where you were. He kept insisting you’d catch up with us. Then you sent that text about the tile.’

  ‘Yeah.’ I hesitated. ‘So what . . . where . . . what did you find? Was the tile the hiding place?’

  ‘Yeah, a loose ceiling tile . . . we found a USB flash drive taped underneath it.’ Ed blushed. ‘I found it, actually. Not that it was hard to find – the only tiles in the hut were in the ceiling. I mean you couldn’t tell from looking that they were loose but we poked them until one came free.’

  ‘Can I have a look at it?’

  ‘Er . . . sure . . .’ Ed rummaged in his pocket. ‘Er . . . why?’
/>
  ‘I thought maybe holding it would spark off another vision . . .’

  ‘Here.’ Ed handed me the little stick.

  Now what was I supposed to do? Maybe I could destroy it – drop the wretched thing as we got off the train – or let it slip onto the tracks in the gap between the tube train and the platform.

  No. Foster had stressed I was to delete what was on the flash drive, not destroy it. If I wanted to make sure Lex would be safe, that’s what I had to do. I fingered the flash drive. Lex’s terrified face flashed into my head. Where was Foster going to take him now? Would he hurt him?

  Oh, God.

  ‘Ketty, are you okay?’ Ed’s kindly blue eyes were full of concern.

  I glanced at his bag. Suddenly I had an idea. ‘Sure.’ I held up the flash drive. ‘But this thing isn’t prompting anything except a headache.’ I leaned forward and pretended to drop it inside his bag. As I did so I gripped the edge of his laptop, poking out at the top. ‘Can I borrow this for a sec? I just remembered a bit of homework I was supposed to do. If I don’t write it down now I’ll forget again.’

  ‘Okay.’

  I tugged the laptop out, hiding the flash drive in my palm. I sat back and opened up the computer. I created a word document and quickly wrote down the title of an English essay we were supposed to be writing, then some random page numbers.

  I looked up. Nico was still busy with his phone and Ed had gone back to his book. Dylan had her eyes shut and was nodding her head in time to the music on her mp3 player. If anything it was even louder than before.

  I went back to the computer and closed my word doc. One of Ed’s folders caught my eye – Rainbow Bomb Research. In spite of the stress of the situation I couldn’t help smiling. Ed even did homework for Medusa missions.

  The man sitting next to me was reading a newspaper. As quietly as I could, I felt my way to the USB port on the side of the laptop and plugged the flash drive in. I glanced down the carriage. Nobody was looking at me. I positioned the laptop so the little stick was turned away from Ed and hidden from Nico and Dylan by my neighbour’s paper.

  My heart pounded as I opened the file inside. A set of blueprints . . . the layout of a building. This must be what Foster had referred to as a ‘schematic’. My eyes flickered to the name of the building: Gayton General Hospital in South London.