Every Second Counts

  ‘Gracie and her son, Spider,’ Uchi said, introducing us.

  I shook hands with Gracie. She seemed nice – a lot warmer than Martina and very beautiful, with long glossy dark hair and clear tawny skin. Her son looked up. I stared, struck by how good-looking he was: olive-skinned and square-jawed, just like Riley, but with high cheekbones and dark, intense eyes.

  He shrugged by way of a greeting. Well that was fine with me. I wasn’t here to make friends. Uchi said he would see me after I’d eaten and asked Spider to show me around.

  Spider looked neither pleased nor annoyed by this request. If anything, he seemed bored. He obeyed Uchi in long-suffering silence, showing me firstly around the ground floor – a series of rather flouncy, flowery rooms with contrasting patterns on the sofas, curtains and rugs – then upstairs to the four bedrooms. I was given a small room on the right of the main landing. It was nowhere near as smart as my room in Riley’s house, but it looked comfortable enough. A tunic, a fleece and two pairs of leggings had been laid out on the bed. I picked up the tunic. It wasn’t my sort of thing at all, but it would be easy to move in which, I was guessing, was the point. I wondered how soon my training for the mission Uchi had mentioned would start.

  I kept my eyes open for anything I could use to communicate with Nat but there were no landlines in the house and I was guessing the only computers were kept in the one locked room – off the hall on the ground floor – that Spider had merely pointed to in passing, saying it was ‘Uchi’s office’. He had a really upper-class accent, very different from both Riley’s and Uchi’s. That, together with his sneering attitude, was starting to make me think he was a total snob.

  After I’d been shown around indoors, Uchi took me outside, saying if I didn’t need a rest he was eager to explain a little more about his philosophy to me. It was chilly but beautiful in the back garden. We sat on the patio, looking out at the sea just a hundred metres or so away beyond the grass which sloped sharply down to where the waves crashed against the rocks. Uchi tucked a blanket over his legs as he spoke. I pulled on my fleece and tried to follow what he was saying, but it was all just so complicated.

  ‘Were you really a soldier?’ I asked after ten minutes or so. Apart from anything else, It was hard imagining someone so old and slow and deliberate in their way of speaking ever having leaped about firing a gun.

  ‘I was,’ Uchi said. ‘Though I don’t think I was a very good one: too thoughtful, too independent, too clever.’

  ‘And yet you must have killed people,’ I persisted.

  Uchi’s dark eyes pierced through me. ‘Sometimes the means justify the ends,’ he said.

  ‘And what are “the ends”?’ I asked, determined to make him explain his stupid ideas in language that made sense to me. ‘What is it exactly you’re aiming for? Because I can see that a lot of democratic governments might be a bit useless, but what’s the alternative that’s so much better?’

  Uchi leaned forward. ‘Let’s start with what you just said: “a bit useless”,’ he said. ‘The truth is that democracy is extremely useless. It’s entirely half-arsed. It doesn’t get enough done. It’s always a compromise. No country can become truly great as a democracy.’

  I frowned. ‘What about America? That’s a world power.’

  ‘Riddled with corruption,’ Uchi said, waving his hand dismissively. ‘At any one time at least half the city mayors are taking bribes. Ditto the state governors. And don’t get me started on Congress or any of the post-war presidents.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘A great country needs a great leader. He – or she – will give the nation hope and prosperity. In return, all the citizens have to give up is the illusion of democratic freedom.’

  ‘Illusion? What do you mean?’

  ‘Well in a democracy the majority always wins. So lots of people – sometimes the most vulnerable – end up ignored. They’re not “free” at all. Meanwhile politicians put all their efforts into winning votes and gaining power, rather than doing what’s best for the country. And most of the time it leads to chaos. Look at the UK right now. Coalition after coalition government, each reversing the previous government’s policies. How can a system like that ever get anything done?’

  I stared at him.

  ‘What Uchi’s saying is that you think you’re free because you have a vote, but actually that vote is bought and sold at levels you’re not even aware of,’ Gracie said softly from the door that led back into the cottage.

  I started; I hadn’t heard her come outside. Gracie walked over and placed a plate of pasties in front of us.

  ‘Ah, my favourite.’ Uchi’s eyes twinkled as he took one. ‘Help yourself, Charlie.’

  I shook my head, unwilling to be deflected from the conversation.

  ‘Well, personally speaking I don’t have a vote yet,’ I said. ‘But when I do, what both of you are saying is that I should – everyone should – give my vote to just one person?’

  Gracie nodded. ‘Roman.’ Her cheeks flushed as she said his name. Was she still in love with him? That would explain why she and Martina didn’t get on.

  ‘Yes,’ Uchi said, apparently oblivious to Gracie’s self-consciousness. ‘Roman offers real hope,’ he went on, his voice tinged with pride. ‘That’s why the public will elect him and his party in greater numbers than ever next week.’

  ‘I see,’ I said. ‘And what about once he’s elected?’

  ‘Then he and the Future Party will bring in emergency powers and gradually set about dismantling the corrupt democratic system that we currently endure.’

  I sat back. If the country had any idea what Riley was really like, there was no way they would vote for him. Then he would lose his seat in Parliament and, with it, all hope of gaining real political power.

  I had to get proof. And before the election next week.

  ‘So Riley’s . . .’ I paused, searching for the right word. ‘He’s the figurehead for everything.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Uchi looked pleased. ‘The people wouldn’t accept a leader like me, all crippled and scarred. But Riley is young and attractive. He builds up trust among the public with his charm and his emphasis on support for ordinary people, but he is also working secretly through the English Freedom Army.’

  With its emphasis on bombs and murder.

  ‘I suppose you might say,’ Uchi mused, clearly unaware of what I was thinking, ‘that I am the brains behind Riley’s charisma.’

  And behind the bomb that killed Mum.

  I took a deep breath. ‘So what are you planning?’

  Uchi chuckled. ‘Let’s not run before we can walk. You might be my daughter, but you know the EFA insists on a cell-based structure in which no single individual knows too much about the overall plan. And Riley will need to be convinced that I have genuinely persuaded you to join us. Anyway, right now I just want to get to know you. We have a lifetime to catch up on.’ He smiled, then tucked his blanket under his legs and took a large bite out of his pasty.

  I stared out to sea, my emotions churning inside me. I was trying hard to tell myself that coming here had been entirely about getting evidence to expose Riley, but it wasn’t true. I had thought earlier that Uchi really did care about me. But I was starting to realise that, although he said he wanted to get to know me, he hadn’t actually asked me a single question about myself. He didn’t seem curious in the slightest about my life with either Mum or Aunt Karen or, more recently with Brian, Gail and Rosa. He didn’t even want to know the superficial kind of things that adults always asked, like whether I had hobbies and which subjects I most liked at school. He hadn’t asked me about Nat, or our time on the run, or if I had friends or a boyfriend.

  If anyone had asked I would have said I didn’t care, but the truth was that, after so long without a dad and so many years wondering about him, it was hard to come face to face with the reality of an actual father and find that he was so wrapped up in himself – not to mention so blinded by his own beliefs that he justifi
ed killing innocent people to achieve them. Uchi wasn’t a man I could see myself liking or respecting. And that hurt.

  ‘Did you ever get married?’ I asked, wondering suddenly if I had a series of half-brothers and -sisters somewhere.

  ‘No.’ Uchi sighed. ‘No wife. No kids. ‘You’re my only blood relative, Charlie. Just as I am yours.’

  I thought of Uncle Brian and how, if his brother wasn’t really my dad, then he wasn’t really my uncle and Rosa not really my cousin. But there was still Mum’s family.

  ‘I have my Aunt Karen,’ I said, ‘Mum’s sister. She’s a blood relative.’

  ‘Mmm,’ Uchi murmured, as if Karen didn’t really count. ‘Ah yes, of course, I forgot about her.’

  I gritted my teeth. I was starting to see how Uchi could justify all the deaths he and his stupid theories had caused, including Mum’s. It was as if he just saw people like chess pieces on a board, there to be moved around for his convenience. Not real.

  ‘What about Spider?’ I asked. ‘Are you close to him?’

  ‘I hardly know the boy,’ Uchi said. ‘I’ve only been here myself for a short while and Spider was at his school until a week ago. He’s been training hard for your mission though.’

  ‘Training?’ I gulped. Was Uchi suggesting that this operation he wanted me to be part of would involve the arrogant boy who had shown me round earlier too? ‘Doesn’t Riley mind putting his son in danger?’

  ‘Oh, I think Roman believes that if Spider is to become a man – a soldier – some risks are inevitable, but he’s made sure the boy has been well trained.’

  ‘By you?’ I asked.

  ‘No.’ Uchi chuckled. ‘I’m past all that physical stuff now. You know his trainer, I believe. A man called Taylor?’

  I froze. Taylor had been the leader of our cell when Nat and I joined the EFA. He had trained us both and, until he betrayed us, I had liked and trusted him. I hadn’t seen him since that terrible day, just over a month ago, when he had tricked me into kidnapping Aaron and sent Nat to die in the House of Commons bomb blast. I knew that Riley was ultimately responsible for what the EFA did, but there was no one I hated more on earth than Taylor.

  ‘Is he here?’ I asked.

  But Uchi was clearly lost in his own thoughts again.

  ‘You know,’ he mused. ‘Considering how young he was when he became a father, Roman has always made a huge effort to support both Gracie and the boy. I admire him for that.’

  ‘What about Taylor?’ I persisted.

  ‘He comes every few days. I’m not sure when he’s arriving next,’ Uchi said vaguely. ‘Not my side of things.’

  ‘He’ll be here tomorrow,’ Spider said, loping out on to the patio. With his long, lean arms and legs, his dark, fitted clothes and his slightly awkward way of moving he actually looked rather like a spider. ‘He just contacted me, in fact, said I needed to get started on your training, Charlie.’

  I stared at him. ‘You’re training me?’

  ‘Luckily for you, yes.’ For the first time since I met him, Spider smiled, revealing a set of perfectly even, white teeth. The smile transformed his face, bringing his good looks to life. For a second I caught a glimpse of his father’s charm. Then the sullen expression came back, like a mask. ‘Come on, then, we’ve only got a couple of hours now until it gets dark.’

  As Uchi limped inside, Spider grabbed a pasty and led me down the grass to the sea. The wind whipped up as we walked and I tugged the fleece more tightly around me. We reached the rocks that led directly to the sea and there I saw what hadn’t been visible from the patio: a large rock pool, roughly thirty metres square, half full with water.

  ‘It comes in from the sea,’ Spider explained, pointing to the pool. When the tide comes in, the water level rises.

  ‘Wow.’ I was genuinely amazed. I’d never seen such a thing before. ‘It’s like your own, natural swimming pool.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Spider looked down his long, elegant nose at me. His voice oozed contempt. ‘That’s what I just said.’

  What a prat.

  ‘So where did you get your nickname?’ I snapped. ‘From someone who thought you looked spiky and poisonous?’

  ‘It happened at primary school,’ Spider said, again sounding as if the question bored him. ‘Years ago.’

  ‘Where d’you go to school now?’

  ‘Boarding school in the Midlands. When I’m there, no one knows I’m dad’s son. It’s like this cool secret. They think my dad’s dead – just like you thought yours was.’

  ‘You know about Uchi being my dad?’

  ‘Course,’ Spider sneered. ‘You’re the only one around here who didn’t.’

  ‘Right.’ I said. Did he have a GSCE in rudeness?

  Spider held up the pasty he had brought from the patio. ‘I’m going to eat this,’ he said, ‘while you get changed so we can start training in the pool.’

  ‘The pool?’

  ‘That’s what I said.’ He pointed to a pile of black rubber on the far side of a rock I hadn’t noticed before. ‘It’s a wet suit.’

  ‘Yes I can see that.’ I grabbed the suit and went back into the house to change. As I dragged the rubber over my limbs, it occurred to me that being trained so soon after arriving must mean the operation Uchi had talked about was going to happen in the very near future. A shiver crept down my spine as I wondered what it would involve. I couldn’t bear the thought of having to go along with a plot in which innocent people might die. I would just have to find out exactly what was planned as fast as possible, then get proof that would show the world how evil Riley and everyone associated with him really were.

  By the time I got outside again, the rock pool was full of water and Spider had changed into his own wet suit. It made him look more than ever like a spider – a dark, malevolent one. I walked down to the rock pool, feeling uncomfortable and self-conscious. Spider’s eyes widened as I approached. He stared at me, clearly transfixed and I felt the heat rise in my cheeks.

  A moment later the scowl was back on his face. ‘Suits you,’ he sneered.

  Sarcastic git. ‘Why are we wearing these anyway?’ I asked. I’d expected the mission Uchi and Riley were planning to involve guns and bombs – that maybe I was going to be shown how to arm and set an actual explosive device. I couldn’t imagine why I needed a wet suit for anything like that.

  Spider glanced at the pool. ‘What do you think?’

  I peered through the water. A row of metal hoops I hadn’t spotted before were fastened to the bottom of the rock. ‘Are we going to have to swim through those?’

  ‘Yes,’ Spider said contemptuously. ‘Why? Can’t you swim underwater?’

  ‘I can swim fine.’ Irritation rose inside me. ‘Why d’you have to sound so snotty about everything?’

  Spider rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t be so emotional. I didn’t ask to babysit you.’

  ‘Babysit?’ I glared at him.

  Spider pointed to the metal hoops. ‘There are ten of those, okay? By the end of the session you need to be able to swim through them and back again in one breath. Understand?’

  ‘What are we training for, sports day?’ I snapped.

  Spider ignored this. He crouched down at the poolside, where two sets of flippers and masks sat in the sun. He handed one set to me. ‘Put these on.’

  It wasn’t as easy as it looked either to walk in the flippers or adjust the mask properly over my face so that no water seeped in around the sides, but at last I was in the pool and ready. The water was cold but the rubber suit kept me surprisingly warm. The flippers, so cumbersome on dry land, made propelling myself through the water light and easy. I swam up and down a few times, enjoying the sense of gliding through the soft waves, then I dived down and pulled myself through the first hoop. It was too narrow to swim properly through using my arms, but I did a sort of wriggle which seemed to work. Using a cramped doggy paddle I made it to the end of the row, then burst back through the water’s surface again. I was already out of bre
ath, but I tried to hide it, not wanting Spider to see.

  ‘You need to go faster to do it there and back,’ Spider said. ‘Look.’

  He ducked under the water and swam fast: down and through all ten hoops and back again, far quicker than I had. His movements were relatively uncoordinated on dry land, but underwater he moved like an eel – sleek and smooth. It was mesmerising to watch.

  He knew it too.

  ‘That’s how it’s done,’ he said as he re-emerged, shaking the water out of his hair.

  I stared at him, feeling really annoyed. ‘Fine.’ I submerged and swam – faster this time – through the hoops.

  We kept going for ages, until the sun had almost set and lights glowed from inside the house. Spider showed me how to move my body in a kind of ripple to avoid knocking against the sides of the hoops which were too narrow to allow for a proper arm stroke. It was a tricky technique to master, but after a few goes I got it. Spider acknowledged my progress with a curt ‘well done’, though he still refused to tell me what we were training for.

  ‘Will we need to swim through a tunnel or something?’ Despite the improvements I’d made so far, the thought of having to hold my breath while swimming through such a narrow space was really daunting. Not that I had any intention of letting Spider see I was in any way intimidated.

  Spider acted as if he hadn’t heard me. With his curls dampened and slicked back off his face, his cheekbones were even more noticeable, as were the long dark lashes that framed his eyes. I hated to admit it, but he looked like a model. He took a breath and dived again. This time he swam through the hoops and back in record time, then turned underwater and swam through each one a third time, before breaking the surface.

  ‘Did you see that?’ he asked, suddenly sounding much younger and nicer than he had before.

  ‘Cool,’ I acknowledged grudgingly.