The Medusa Project: Double-Cross

  ‘And how do you know all this?’ I demanded.

  ‘McMurdo and I used to be friends. We met here in Sydney . . . we worked at the same hospital for a while. McMurdo knew that I’d had a number of run-ins with William Fox . . . we even chatted about how ludicrous Fox’s claims were. At the time, neither of us believed that the Medusa gene really existed.’ Avery sighed. ‘Anyway, when my second wife, Meg, became pregnant, McMurdo told us he had bought the Medusa gene.’

  ‘Did he tell you about the mothers dying?’ I asked.

  ‘No, not that,’ Avery said. ‘McMurdo must have known that the Medusa gene was deadly – after all, Geri had sold him the gene – but he certainly didn’t tell us. The implantation worked. Cal was born and . . .’

  ‘. . . and a few years later Cal’s mother – Meg – died,’ Ed said.

  Avery nodded, looking weary.

  ‘So you want revenge on McMurdo?’ I said slowly.

  ‘Yes, he betrayed me, just as Geri betrayed you,’ Avery said bitterly. ‘I went after him at the time, but he was clever . . . there was no proof he’d ever been involved in Cal’s birth.’

  ‘Why didn’t you just beat him up?’ I said.

  Avery stared at me. ‘Physical violence is not my style, Nico.’ He sighed. ‘I’ve waited a long time for this, but if you can find the proof that Geri killed William Fox, McMurdo goes down with her as an accessory after the fact. It’s not the crime I wanted him to pay for most, but it will have to do.’

  I nodded. It made sense.

  Avery cleared his throat. ‘I hope you’ll understand, Nico, but before I tell you any more, I’d like to see what you’re capable of. McMurdo is potentially a dangerous man and I need to know you can take care of yourself

  My immediate reaction was resentment. What did he think I was – some sort of performing chimp? But I soon realised it was in my interests to show Avery exactly what I could do. If we could access McMurdo’s secret film of Geri’s confession, then we could hand it over to the Australian police. It was perfect, in fact. Geri might have a lot of power at home in Britain, but even she couldn’t control a police force on the other side of the world.

  ‘Sure, I’ll show you what I can do.’ I looked around for something to move telekinetically that would impress Avery. Apart from a couple of bales of hay in the neighbouring field and the sunloungers round the pool behind us, there wasn’t much that was movable out here. And I was certain Avery wouldn’t want me ripping up his plants or fences.

  My gaze flickered upwards, to where Cal, with Ketty and Dylan on either side, were lined up in the air about twenty metres above the ground, performing double somersaults.

  Without thinking it through, I focused all my powers on the three of them. I only intended to give them a nudge, to throw their stupid somersaults off balance, but the energy flowed out of me with more force than I’d realised.

  The three of them blasted forwards in the air, as if shoved by an invisible hand. With a yell, Cal let go of both girls’ hands.

  And then everything went into slow motion as the three of them dropped through the air, falling towards the ground.

  10: Falling

  I could feel myself trying to race forwards, but everything had slowed and it was like moving through mud. Beside me, Avery roared out Cal’s name.

  I held out my shaking hands. Dylan and Ketty were dropping like stones. I put every ounce of effort I had into the telekinesis, intending to hold them up.

  And then I realised Cal had the girls by the arms again. They bobbed in the air for a moment, then soared up.

  They were safe. The whole thing had lasted seconds.

  My heart thudded as it occurred to me that Dylan – had she fallen – would have been safe thanks to her ability to protect herself from physical harm. Ketty, on the other hand, would probably have fallen to her death if Cal or I hadn’t saved her.

  Avery and Ed were still standing beside me, looking shocked. Above our heads, Cal and Dylan were speaking. Cal let go of Dylan’s arm and she dropped to earth.

  Avery gasped, but it was obvious from the relaxed way Dylan fell that she was fine. She landed lightly on the ground, her force field protecting her from the impact. Jumping up, she raced towards us, her eyes glinting with fury.

  ‘Good job, Nico,’ she said venomously. ‘I’m here to tell you you’re a total freakin’ jerk.’

  I froze. Avery was looking at me now, his eyes still wide with shock.

  Ed frowned. ‘Dylan’s right,’ he said angrily. ‘What were you thinking? If Cal hadn’t caught Ketty, she’d have really hurt herself.’

  ‘I’d have brought her down okay,’ I said. But inside my stomach was twisting over. Ketty had been totally vulnerable up there.

  My face grew hot as I thought of how terrified she must have been. I looked up, desperate for her to come back so I could apologise, but she and Cal were now just distant specks in the sky.

  It was dark and Cal and Ketty still weren’t back and I was quietly going off my head.

  Ed had contacted Ketty remotely, so I knew she was safe – but when I borrowed his phone to call her, it went straight to voicemail, so I still hadn’t had a chance to apologise.

  We were in the dining room, sitting round a huge oak table with Avery, Philly and Caro – and the four little kids Avery had mentioned earlier. They were all under ten and with the same white-blond hair as Cal. Shy at first, they were soon chatting happily with Ed and Dylan. I didn’t talk much myself. I was too busy wondering where Cal and Ketty were – and what they were doing.

  Avery sat me next to him at the head of the table. He’d already informed me we’d be eating shepherd’s pie – ‘an English dish for our English visitors’ – but had made no mention of my disastrous telekinesis demonstration outside.

  As Philly put a steaming portion of mince and potato in front of me, Ketty and Cal appeared in the doorway. They were laughing, leaning against each other and Ketty’s hair was all tousled. I stared at her, feeling my face flush. Couldn’t she see how humiliating it was for her to be so friendly with him?

  ‘You’re late,’ Avery barked.

  The atmosphere tensed. The two women looked at each other and even the smallest child shrank back in his seat. I got the distinct impression that, for all his easy, relaxed manner, Avery in a temper was not a pretty sight.

  Cal straightened up immediately. ‘Sorry, sir,’ he said.

  Sir. I grinned.

  Ketty blushed bright red. She scurried to the nearest seat, next to Dylan. Cal went round the other side of the table and slid in between two of the younger kids.

  Seconds later Philly had served them both and everyone was laughing and chatting again.

  Everyone except me. I kept looking over, trying to catch Ketty’s eye, but she was intent on her conversation with Dylan and avoided my gaze. Cal kept looking over at her, too. He glanced once at my end of the table, scowled and looked resolutely away again.

  I gritted my teeth. That was it. The sooner we left here the better. I turned to Avery. Once again, he was already watching me. I shook off the slightly spooked feeling this gave me.

  ‘I’d like to get hold of this film showing Geri Paterson’s confession as soon as possible,’ I said. ‘Where do you think McMurdo keeps it?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Avery said. ‘But it should be easy enough to find McMurdo himself. Apart from the hospital where he still does some consultancy work, he’s on the board of a number of organisations in Sydney.’

  ‘Where’s he going to be tomorrow?’

  Avery looked startled. ‘Tomorrow?’

  ‘There’s no point hanging around,’ I said.

  Avery chuckled. ‘I’ll get one of my men to call his secretary . . . pretend to be a client . . . It won’t be hard to find out . . .’

  A few minutes later we had our answer. Tomorrow morning McMurdo was going to be attending a board meeting at a small art gallery in Sydney of which he was patron.

  ‘Good,’ I said, th
inking it through. Dylan, Ketty and I could create a diversion while Ed mind-read McMurdo to find out where the film of Geri’s confession was hidden. A thought suddenly struck me. ‘How do you know McMurdo hasn’t destroyed the evidence by now?’

  ‘I don’t,’ Avery said. ‘But I doubt it. It’s his insurance against Geri and McMurdo once told me he’d left instructions for the confession to be sent to the police if anything happened to him.’

  Half an hour later the meal finished and Avery suggested we go and sit outside, by the pool, to talk through the details of the plan. Everyone agreed, but instead of heading straight outside onto the terrace, I made my way round the table to Ketty.

  ‘Ketts,’ I said firmly. ‘Can I have a word?’

  She looked up and there was real sadness in her eyes. ‘Hi.’

  I took a deep breath. ‘I’m really sorry I was such a jerk earlier. It was stupid of me to use telekinesis when you were up in the air and I didn’t mean to push you so that you fell.’

  Ketty nodded. Around us the room was still bustling, but no one was paying us particular attention. Avery was talking in a low voice to Ed as they headed outside, while Philly and Caro dealt with the smaller kids. Dylan had stopped Cal on his way round the table and they were now deep in conversation, too.

  ‘Ketts?’ I said. ‘Are we okay?’

  She looked up at me again. ‘Sure,’ she said, forcing a smile.

  I smiled back, but somewhere inside I still felt uneasy. Despite Ketty’s smile, she looked sad. But I didn’t know what else to say and there was no time for a longer conversation.

  A few minutes later Ketty, Ed, Dylan, Avery, Cal and I were sitting at one of the wrought-iron tables between the pool and the rose garden. As we talked, both Dylan and Ed made some useful suggestions. Avery sat back in his chair, watching us thoughtfully. Ketty and Cal said nothing until I’d finished, then Ketty bit her lip.

  ‘I get what each of us is supposed to do,’ she said, ‘and it makes sense. But what about Cal? He’d be really useful for helping Ed and Dylan get away.’

  ‘This thing with Geri hasn’t got anything to do with Cal,’ I said quickly. He was the last person I wanted involved.

  ‘Yes, it does.’ Cal glared at me. ‘She knew the Medusa gene would kill all the mums and she still sold it to McMurdo. As far as I’m concerned, she killed my mother – that gives me as good a reason to want Geri behind bars as the rest of you.’

  Dylan and Ed nodded. I kept my eyes on Ketty. She was gazing at Cal with . . . was that admiration?

  ‘Okay,’ I said uncertainly. ‘But the four of us are used to working together. It won’t be easy to adapt to someone else being on the team.’

  Dylan snorted. ‘I think we’ll cope,’ she said, her voice dripping with irritation.

  ‘It’ll work better with Cal,’ Ed said.

  I met Ketty’s eyes. It was obvious that she, like the others, really wanted Cal to join us – and she’d just see any further objections I made as me being difficult again. I knew I had to give in – and with good grace, too.

  ‘Sure.’ I attempted what I hoped was a charming smile. ‘Welcome to the Medusa Project, Cal.’

  He nodded curtly.

  It wasn’t late, but we were all yawning, our body clocks totally thrown by the time difference with the UK. Avery gently shooed us back to our rooms, with the promise that we could set off for McMurdo’s art gallery in the morning.

  I was hoping for a bit of private time with Ketty, but she disappeared into her room before I had the chance. In the end I slept worse than I’d ever slept in my life – waking every few hours, all disoriented, my head full of images of Cal and Ketty together.

  The morning was hot and sticky. Everybody seemed on edge.

  ‘Are you sure you wouldn’t rather rest today and go after McMurdo tomorrow?’ Avery asked.

  ‘No,’ I said before anyone else had a chance to speak. ‘We need to get on with this.’

  Avery himself drove the five of us into town. He had a jeep – not as cool as the Bentley, but with room for all of us in the back. That suited me. The last thing I wanted was Cal offering to fly Ketty all the way to Sydney.

  It took over an hour to drive to the outskirts of Sydney and nearly another fifty minutes to reach McMurdo’s art gallery. Avery dropped us at the end of the road.

  ‘Remember, you mustn’t let anyone see what you’re capable of,’ he warned Cal. ‘If you have to fly, do it discreetly, and stop as soon as you’re out of immediate danger.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Cal said. He looked around sulkily, as if wondering why his dad wasn’t lecturing the rest of us.

  ‘We’ll look after Cal,’ I said, knowing this would annoy him.

  ‘I know you will.’ Avery smiled at me. ‘Okay, Cal, remember Nico’s in charge. You do what he says.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Cal said again.

  I grinned. As we walked towards the art gallery, I put my arm round Ketty’s shoulders. To my relief, she didn’t shrug me off.

  ‘How’s it going with the visions? Seen anything we should know about?’ I asked with a smile.

  Ketty shook her head. ‘I got a few glimpses earlier – just the inside of the gallery with the atrium where we’re going to stand – but it’s gone again now. It always gets flaky when I’m stressed.’

  ‘I know, babe,’ I said. ‘But it’ll come back – I’ve got faith.’

  Ketty smiled at me. My spirits soared. Everything was looking up: Ketty wasn’t mad any more, Avery had put Cal in his place – and I was in charge of this mission.

  The other four stared at me expectantly as we entered the art gallery. We were all wearing caps pulled low over our foreheads, except Cal who was in a supersize hoodie. None of the cameras could possibly pick up our faces.

  I checked the watch Avery had lent me. ‘It’s 11.03,’ I said quietly. ‘Ketty and I will distract the guards in two minutes. You guys ready?’

  Ed and Dylan nodded. Cal offered me a scowl.

  ‘Let’s go.’ Keeping my head down, I took Ketty’s hand again and we wandered into the main room of the gallery. As Avery had described the night before – and Ketty had just prefigured – it was an atrium, with a high glass roof two floors above our heads. Stairs led up to a balcony that overlooked the ground floor where we were standing.

  The room was bright with sunshine and full of people – several twenty- and thirty-somethings wandering around in pairs, plus a school party at the far end. I checked the time again as we wandered past the colourful paintings that covered all the walls. Ketty tucked a few stray hairs under her cap, and pulled the shapeless grey sweat top she was wearing closer round her.

  My heart beat fast as I surveyed the room, looking for a suitable picture. Nothing too large or cumbersome.

  My eyes lit on a small painting in the corner – abstract blue stripes against a russet-coloured background. It was conveniently positioned above a radiator. I glanced around again. No one was directly watching either the picture or me.

  Making as small a movement with my hands as I could, I twisted my right wrist. The picture jumped off the wall. I lowered it carefully – but very quickly – behind the radiator below. As I did so, an alarm sounded.

  Everyone in the room looked up. A security guard on the ground floor spun round, quickly spotting the missing picture.

  ‘It’s been taken!’ he yelled. ‘Look.’ He pointed at the gap in the wall where the painting had hung.

  The atrium erupted with yells. I looked down, hiding the smile that was spreading across my face.

  So far so good.

  11: The Gallery

  Voices rose over the alarm as two security guards came running past us. I shrank back against the wall, making sure I kept my face well out of sight.

  ‘My turn,’ Ketty whispered. She followed the two guards to the scene of the crime. People were crowding round the place on the wall where the painting had hung though so far no one had spotted it tucked deep behind the radiator. Ketty thrust
herself into the crowd.

  The noise was deafening, the gallery acoustics managing to magnify everyone’s shouts. I could just make out Ketty’s shriek above the other voices.

  ‘There were three of them,’ she yelled, pointing towards the fire exit. ‘They took the painting and ran off through there.’

  More shrieks and yells. I waited, adrenalin surging through me.

  A few moments later and Ketty appeared at my side. ‘Let’s get to the meeting point,’ she said.

  We raced outside. Police sirens were now sounding in the distance. Ketty and I took a left, towards Avery’s car which was still parked at the end of the street. He was leaning on the bonnet, waiting for us.

  He leaped up as we approached, relief all over his face.

  ‘You’re okay?’ he said.

  ‘Course.’ I looked back at the art gallery. A police car had just pulled up and someone was putting crime-scene tape around the area outside the front door.

  ‘That’s overkill, isn’t it?’ Avery murmured.

  I shrugged. ‘They probably haven’t found the painting behind the radiator yet. Ketty threw them off the scent, but they’ll see it as soon as all the fuss dies down.’

  Avery chuckled.

  Another police car arrived. We waited for the others to appear. After ten minutes Avery was getting agitated.

  ‘What’s happening?’ he said. ‘The others should be out by now.’

  I peered down the road. Why hadn’t Ed made contact?

  Ketty gasped. ‘They’re coming . . . Cal and Dylan . . . they’re jumping . . . flying . . . I just saw a flash of it . . . a vision . . . We should see them any second.’

  As she finished speaking, the two of them raced round the corner. They were both running hard, Cal slightly in the lead. Dylan’s red hair streamed out behind her. They stopped in front of us, panting.

  ‘It’s Ed.’ Dylan grabbed my arm. ‘Major meltdown. You’ve got to go back for him, Nico.’

  ‘What happened?’ Ketty said breathlessly.

  ‘We got to the office where McMurdo was having his meeting just as the alarm went off,’ Dylan said. ‘Everyone rushed out. No one even noticed us.’