It wasn’t in me.
I let the gun fall to the ground.
As I looked down, someone hit me on the back of the head. The last thing I saw before I fell to the floor were Cal’s trainers, rushing up to meet me.
20: Russian Roulette
My head hurt where the guard had hit me and my arm, bent beneath my body, was numb from where I’d been lying on it.
The floor under me was cold and hard. I groaned and opened my eyes. Cal’s face filled my field of vision, his grey eyes peering anxiously down at me.
‘Nico?’ His face was very pale. ‘Are you all right?’
I sat up, rubbing my head. ‘I think so.’ I looked around. We were inside some sort of concrete cellar. A row of barrels stood against one wall, some dusty bottles in a rack opposite. There was no window.
The recent events in the corridor and my inability to shoot Diamond suddenly rushed into my head. ‘How long have I been out?’ I asked.
‘Only about ten minutes,’ Cal said. He nodded towards the door. ‘There are two guards out there, both armed and . . . and . . .’ He hesitated.
‘What?’ I said.
‘I told Diamond about the Medusa gene,’ Cal blurted out. ‘I’m sorry, but he kept pushing and pushing me about how you’d done that thing with his gun . . . you know, just holding it in mid-air. I felt so weird after fainting before and when he asked about me I . . . I showed him how I can move off the ground.’ He sighed. ‘I just wanted to pick you up and fly out of here, but there weren’t any exits and everywhere I looked there was some guy with a gun and—’
‘Don’t sweat it,’ I said. ‘In case you didn’t notice, I couldn’t pull the trigger on Diamond so I’m not exactly finding a way out of this myself.’
‘I’m glad you didn’t shoot him,’ Cal said firmly. ‘Things like that change who you are . . .’
He looked down at the dusty concrete floor. I got the strong sense there was something he wasn’t telling me.
‘What’s up?’ I said.
Cal shook his head. A beat passed, but he said nothing.
‘Okay, well, we have to get out of here,’ I said, scrambling to my feet. A wave of nausea swelled inside me as I stood up. I clutched the back of my head again and leaned back against the wall.
‘Are you all right?’
I nodded, looking around the room. I could easily teleport one of the barrels. Perhaps if I positioned it by the door, I could hurl it against the first guard who came in here . . . give us a chance to get away . . .
‘Ed contacted me while you were unconscious,’ Cal said. ‘I told him where we were. He and Ketty are back at Dad’s. Sounds like they’ve all been going insane worrying about us . . .’ He paused. ‘Trouble is, they don’t know exactly where Dylan is yet – and they can’t risk calling the police until they know she’s safe. They’re on their way now, but Dad says it will take over an hour to get here by car. Diamond could come for us at any minute.’
‘Right.’ I teleported one of the barrels across the room and positioned it beside the door. ‘I can use this to attack them,’ I said. ‘We’ll make a run for it when they get here.’
Cal nodded. We stood in silence for a few moments. I thought back to my earlier suspicions about Cal and Avery being in league with McMurdo. They seemed ludicrous now.
‘I guess Avery’s, like, quite a cool dad, isn’t he?’ I said.
Cal shrugged. ‘He’s okay. Strict, though . . .’ He paused. ‘What about your . . . the guy you mentioned. Fred, is it?’
‘Fergus?’ I said. ‘Well, Fergus is my stepdad. I don’t know my real dad.’ My thoughts went back to the DNA test results I’d heard Avery talking about on the phone. McMurdo hadn’t given any indication there was any possibility that he knew about the test, let alone that I could be his son.
Cal’s face reddened. ‘You do know your real dad actually,’ he said.
I stared at him. ‘What d’you mean?’
A long pause. Cal met my eyes.
‘It’s Avery,’ he said. ‘He’s your real dad.’
‘What?’ My head spun.
There was another long pause, then Cal sighed.
‘When Avery started hacking into the files about the four of you in England, one of the things he checked out was your birth dates. I guess he realised that he could be your dad then. I overheard him talking about doing a DNA test off some drink you would have when you arrived, so I knew before I came to meet you that he suspected you were his son.’
So Avery had tested my DNA from the saliva on my lemonade glass. Well, that explained why Cal had been so hostile right from the start: Avery was his father and I could understand why he might not want to share him with a complete stranger.
I stood, letting the news sink in. Avery Jones was my dad. That s why he’d used the phrase: Nico doesn’t suspect a thing. He’d been talking about my parentage, not some kind of double-cross deal with Rod McMurdo.
Before I could process this any further, the door banged open. Three of Diamond’s men appeared, each one holding two guns, arms outstretched.
I glanced at the barrel I’d been planning on teleporting at them. Too late. I’d missed my chance. Now there were too many of them for me to deal with in one go.
The sunburnt guard from before was across the room before I could move. He grabbed my arm and yanked me towards the door.
‘Come on,’ he ordered. ‘Both of you.’
We stumbled out of the cellar and up a short flight of stairs, back to Diamond’s office. This time the overhead light in the middle of the room was switched off though a table and two chairs had been set underneath it.
The surrounding sofas and chairs were filled with people – at least ten, I thought, as I glanced round. All men, smartly dressed and with drinks in their hands. They stared at me and Cal curiously. No one spoke.
The sunburnt guard shoved me into one of the seats at the small table in the centre of the room. Cal was pushed into the seat opposite. Diamond strode over, his fingers weighed down with heavy rings.
‘Time for some entertainment,’ he said with a smirk.
I glanced around the room. There were at least five guards in here standing at various points around the walls. Each one carried two guns, all of which were aimed at either my head, or Cal’s.
My heart sank. No way could my telekinesis handle all those weapons at once.
‘As you all know, I’m a huge fan of games of chance,’ Diamond went on. He was, clearly, thoroughly enjoying himself. ‘And games of chance are best when there’s a lot at stake.’
What on earth did that mean?
Diamond held up his gun. ‘There’s one bullet in here,’ he said. ‘Which means Russian roulette.’
An excited murmur rippled round the room. I stared at him in confusion. I’d heard of Russian roulette, but I couldn’t remember exactly what it was.
‘Of course this will be no ordinary game.’ Diamond held out the gun in his palm towards me. ‘Nico, please use your telekinesis to take this . . . and point it at your head.’
I stared at him, shocked. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it.
‘Get the gun into position,’ Diamond repeated impatiently. ‘Do it or I’ll shoot you anyway.’
Heart pounding loudly, I teleported the gun into the air so that the barrel was pointing at my head. There was an audible gasp from the men in the room. Most of them leaned forward, trying to work out if it was some kind of trick.
‘Bets, please,’ Diamond cried. He threw me a nasty grin. Clearly, after my inability to shoot him earlier, he had no fears that I was about to turn the gun on him.
Excited chatter broke out all around us. The guard with narrow, mean eyes went round the room, taking everyone’s bets.
My whole body trembled, but I kept the gun steady in the air.
A couple of men strode over, feeling the air between my head and the gun and the area around the gun, clearly trying to work out if it was suspended in the air with wires.
/> I kept my eyes on Cal, sitting opposite me. He looked petrified. I hadn’t had time to think about it before, but it now occurred to me that if I was Avery’s son, then he and his other children, including Cal, were my family.
Man, if I didn’t die here, my brother would.
The seconds ticked by. A panicked jumble of thoughts flashed in and out of my head. I thought of Avery and the others on their way to find us, I thought of Dylan trapped in McMurdo’s room and I thought of Fergus back in England, hoping I was safe.
Most of all I thought of Ketty – her pretty, open face smiling at me. Being her boyfriend was the best thing in my life. I couldn’t bear to leave her.
Part of me wanted to cry, but another part was numb, almost standing outside myself and watching what was happening.
There was no way my telekinesis was powerful enough to alter the course of a bullet, especially at such close range. Which left me with two choices.
One: I didn’t shoot – or I turned the gun away from me and aimed a shot elsewhere. If I did this, Diamond had made it clear I’d be killed for disobeying him, whether the gun fired its single bullet or not.
Two: I shot at myself as Diamond had ordered – which would mean I had a one in six chance of dying. Six chambers, one bullet. The odds weren’t great.
I forced myself to work it through. Three possible outcomes: be killed, shoot myself, or survive. And only one of those would result in me living beyond the next minute.
As the clamour in the room died down and all eyes turned expectantly to me, I knew that there was no choice. I swallowed.
‘Take aim,’ Diamond said.
I gritted my teeth, steadying the gun in the air beside me. I took a deep breath.
Don’t think about it . . . don’t think about it . . .
I fixed my eyes on Cal. If I was going to die, then at least the last thing I saw would be familiar.
I could just see the gun out of the corner of my eye. It was hovering beside my temple. I telekinetically squeezed down the trigger. I could see it shift, just slightly.
I held my breath and stared at Cal, shutting out the rest of the room.
Then I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.
21: The Getaway
At the last minute I turned the gun and fired into the ceiling. The gun clicked – an empty, hollow sound that meant the single bullet wasn’t in the chamber that had fired.
I opened my eyes with a huge sigh of relief. Cal was still sitting right in front of me, his face frozen in panic.
“You cheated,” Diamond roared.
Around us, the room erupted. I laid the gun on the table. For a second, wild elation surged through me, then it was like my body crumbled on the inside, collapsing in on itself. I wanted to bawl my eyes out, but instead I turned to Diamond.
‘I still pulled the trigger,’ I said, my voice harsh and steady. ‘Now let us go.’
Diamond shook his head. He pointed at Cal. ‘Shoot at him.’
‘What?’
He couldn’t be serious. My mouth fell open. ‘No way.’
Diamond bent down so his mouth was right by my ear.
‘They want to see you fire the gun without touching it and I want to see you do it without cheating,’ he hissed. ‘Do it or I’ll kill him anyway’
He shoved the gun towards me on the table.
Heart pounding, I teleported it into the air. As I moved it towards Cal, the room fell silent again. Hushed awe and anticipation filled the air.
I placed the gun in position against Cal’s head. I’d avoided looking at his face before. Now I shifted my focus to take him in. His eyes were wide and terrified.
This was unbearable.
‘I can’t,’ I said. ‘He’s my brother.’
Diamond laughed. ‘C’mon, sport,’ he said. ‘You don’t look anything alike.’
I glanced back at Cal. It was true: his skin was fairer than mine and his hair was white-blond while mine was dark.
‘Okay, he’s my half-brother,’ I insisted.
‘You’re making it up.’ The smile slid from Diamond’s face. ‘Get on with it. Everyone’s watching. Pull the trigger.’
I focused on the gun again, unable to bear the terror in Cal’s eyes. I forced myself to think through the options again. The possible outcomes were the same as before except shooting at Cal was taking a risk with his life. Not mine.
In that moment I knew I couldn’t do it. Whatever happened, there was no way I could shoot him.
I couldn’t shoot Cal. I couldn’t shoot anybody.
An idea sprang into my head. There was no time to think it through, I just had to hope that I could carry it off . . . and that Cal wasn’t too traumatised to help me.
In a single movement I teleported the gun into my hand and lunged at Diamond. He stumbled and I pushed him against the table, pressing the barrel of the gun against his neck.
Shocked cries in the room. The guards all around stared uncertainly at Diamond.
‘Grab him,’ Diamond hissed quietly at the guard standing immediately behind him. ‘There aren’t any bullets in the gun. Grab him.’
No bullets? So the whole Russian roulette game had been a trick. Furious, I raised my hand and focused on teleporting the guard at the door. Taken by complete surprise, the man rose off his feet, into the air. He let out a terrified yell. The crowd around us shrank back as I shoved the man through the air, teleporting him forcefully to the floor. He landed heavily. For a second, everyone stared at him, totally freaked out.
I glanced at Cal. ‘Move us,’ I commanded.
He blinked, taking a moment to understand me.
‘NOW!’ I yelled.
In a flash, Cal was in the air. He reached for me . . . grabbed me . . . We flew to the door, terrified gasps all around us.
‘Get them!’ Diamond shouted.
But we were at the door. I opened it telekinetically and Cal hauled us through and along the corridor. I turned, trying to keep my body as still as possible as Cal negotiated the dark, narrow pathway, and slammed the door shut behind us. I twisted my hand to lock it.
Immediately, a shot fired.
Cal stiffened beside me.
‘They’re shooting at the lock,’ I said. ‘Hurry!’
We flew faster . . . up the stairs . . . along the corridor. I flung open doors as we passed them. There. A storeroom cluttered with cleaning things – with a window big enough for us to get through. I flung the window open and Cal flew us through. Once outside, he hovered in the air, clutching at my arm to steady me.
I looked around. We were in a deserted side street. It was dark. There was no sign of McMurdo.
‘Where now?’ Cal asked in a terrified voice.
‘Up high!’ I ordered.
In a flash Cal had zoomed into the air, high, high above the streets below. I looked down. Big mistake. I lost my grip on his arm and slipped. As I slid, I just managed to grab hold of his ankle. My fingers dug into his leg.
Cal looked down at me, his eyes wide. ‘Hold on!’
We soared above the buildings. This time it wasn’t so hard to keep my legs and arms together which, I could feel, helped us move faster. I looked down. A tall block a few hundred metres away had a square, flat roof.
‘Let’s land there.’ I pointed at the rooftop.
Cal nodded. He dived towards the rooftop, stopping suddenly to hover a few metres above it. I was jerked backwards by the motion.
‘Sorry,’ Cal murmured as he lowered us to land gently. ‘I’m kind of jittery.’
As I touched the concrete ground, my legs started shaking. I sank down, unable to stand for another second. As the tension flooded out of me, what Cal had said struck me as the funniest thing I’d ever heard. ‘Jittery,’ I repeated, starting to laugh. ‘Jittery.’ I put my head in my hands, giggling helplessly.
Cal stood over me, panting from the exertion of flying. I glanced up at him, tears of laughter now leaking out of my eyes.
‘Man, if you are jittery,
I’m a freakin’ wreck.’
Cal stared down at me, his expression furious for a second. Then he, too, sank to the ground and doubled over with laughter.
We couldn’t stop for at least a minute. Every time one of us tried to straighten out, the other set both of us off again. But at last the laughter dried up and we stared at each other.
I shook my head, realising just how wrong my first impression of Cal had been. Cal himself lay back on the ground.
‘Where now?’ he asked.
‘We have to find the house where McMurdo was holding us earlier. Dylan’s still there – and once McMurdo realises we’ve double-crossed him, he’ll kill her. We have to get to her first.’
Cal nodded. He sat up and looked across the lights of the city. ‘I think McMurdo’s house was over there,’ he said, pointing eastwards.
‘Let’s head that way, then,’ I said.
As we stood up, Cal punched me lightly in the shoulder.
‘Thanks for saving me back there, er . . . bro,’ he said. ‘For a moment, I thought you were really gonna shoot me.’
I grinned. ‘No worries,’ I said. ‘Ketty would have killed me if I hadn’t done the right thing.’
Cal’s face reddened. He looked away.
Why had I mentioned Ketty’s name? I’d completely forgotten how, just hours before, I’d been insanely jealous of the way Cal had been all over her. He still wasn’t looking at me. Man, maybe he really did like her. Maybe she really liked him. I shook myself. I couldn’t let thoughts of Ketty distract me now.
‘Come on, man,’ I said, forcing a note of steel into my voice. ‘Let’s go.’
We soared into the air again, flying high above the houses and buildings, heading east. As we flew, Ed appeared in my mind.
Nico, are you all right?
I quickly communicated everything that had happened.
We’re looking for McMurdo’s house now, I thought-spoke. We have to get Dylan.
I know, Ed thought-spoke back. A few minutes later, Ed contacted me again with McMurdo’s address, which he’d found using Clusterchaos.
‘I know the area,’ Cal said when I told him. ‘Yeah, that fits . . . that’s where we were this arvo.’