‘Will it stay put?’ Angela asked, doubtfully.
‘Let’s hope so,’ Theo said. ‘Come on.’
They crawled together side by side until the tunnel became too narrow, then Theo led the way. The dust danced around them, the light grew dimmer and the smell was even worse than before – something Theo wouldn’t have thought possible. When he reached the section of the tunnel which branched off to the right and left as well as straight ahead, he stopped.
‘We need to get to the basement,’ Angela whispered from behind him.
Theo looked up and down the tunnels, his eyes narrowed with concentration.
‘This way,’ he said at last, turning to his right.
‘How d’you know that?’ Angela asked, surprised.
‘I’ve been in here before,’ Theo replied.
‘You have?’
‘Yeah, on Monday morning.’
‘So that’s why you were late,’ Angela breathed. ‘I wondered.’
‘Shush!’ Theo whispered nervously.
The end of the tunnel was in sight. Cautiously, they moved towards it. Once there, Theo looked through the mesh down towards the basement. Three or four low-wattage light bulbs provided the only light. Though it was bright outside, Theo’s eyes took a few moments to adjust to the gloom in the basement.
A white man with light brown hair tied back in a pony-tail stood below, his back towards the ventilator shaft. A smallish table, a large mattress and a couple of rickety, wooden chairs were the only bits of furniture that Theo could see – furniture that hadn’t been there before. He turned his head this way and that, searching for Ricky.
‘What’s going on? Budge over,’ Angela whispered.
‘Shush!’ Theo urged.
There was barely room for him, let alone enough for Angela to see what was going on as well.
‘Budge up,’ Angela insisted.
Angela pushed Theo’s legs out of her way. Theo had to lie on his side to allow Angela to crawl forward. They both watched through the mesh as the man with the pony-tail packed a dark holdall with assorted items off the table. He picked up something and Theo caught a quick glimpse of it before the man put it in his jacket pocket. A gun …
‘There’s two men down there …’ Theo whispered.
‘That’s Robbie.’ Angela nodded towards the man with the pony-tail. ‘And that’s Scott, Robbie’s brother.’ She pointed to the other man. Scott’s hair only just covered his head, it was so short. He was tall and broad and wore army combat clothes and what looked like Doc Martens. Theo didn’t like the look of him at all. He was definitely not the sort of guy you wanted to meet on a dark night – nor even in broad daylight come to that. Neither of them were. Robbie picked up the holdall.
‘All set?’ Scott asked his brother.
Robbie nodded, then said something about ‘the boy’ which Theo didn’t catch. Theo inched closer.
‘What about Dylan and Tom?’ Scott asked.
‘What about them?’ Robbie replied.
The two brothers regarded each other, before they both burst out laughing. Theo’s blood ran ice-cold in his veins at the sound. He glanced at Angela. The grim look on her face reflected what Theo was thinking. Robbie and Scott were up to something … evil. Something that even Dylan and Tom didn’t know about.
‘Take care of business, Scott. And don’t be late to the Irving. I need you. I’ll take care of the boy.’ And with that, Robbie headed for the exit at the far end of the basement. Theo and Angela watched him leave before either of them spoke.
‘What did Robbie mean by that – “I’ll take care of the boy”?’ Theo asked.
Angela didn’t answer.
‘I don’t see Ricky,’ said Theo.
‘He should be here.’ Angela looked around. ‘Maybe they’ve got him tied up on the ground floor somewhere. I’ll go and take a look.’
‘No, don’t. We should stick together …’ But Theo was wasting his breath. Already Angela was wriggling backwards.
‘Angela!’ Theo called after her.
It was no use. Theo shook his head. Angela was going to get them into real trouble at this rate. With a start, Theo realized what he’d just done.
He’d called after Angela out loud …
Theo ducked his head immediately. Had Scott heard him? Theo’s stomach churned. He could taste fear, bitter as bile, in his mouth. Don’t start panicking, he told himself sternly. Scott probably hadn’t heard a thing. Theo raised his head slowly and looked down through the dust-covered mesh.
‘I see you …’ Scott said softly.
Scott stood directly underneath the grille, staring straight up at him. Theo’s breath caught in his throat. His blood froze. In that instant, his whole body went numb.
Slowly, Scott raised his hand and pointed at Theo. ‘Stay there!’ he ordered.
Theo didn’t wait to hear anything else. Panic-stricken, he pushed himself backwards. Stay? Yeah, likely! He had to get out of there – fast. In the shaft, he was a sitting duck. Ahead, Theo heard footsteps hurrying, then the sound of something being dragged across the concrete floor.
He’s after me, Theo thought desperately.
Digging his elbows and knees into the floor, Theo used them to propel himself backwards. Ignoring the pain that the hard flooring and the bits of debris and rubble caused him as they bit into his skin, Theo could think of nothing else but getting out of there. How he wished he could turn around. Scott wouldn’t be able to see him for the dust – literally! – if he could just turn around.
‘Where d’you think you’re going?’ Scott’s face appeared at the shaft.
He’s standing on the table, Theo realized. Within moments, Scott wrenched off the grille and threw it behind him. It crashed to the floor, the sound echoing throughout the warehouse and straight through Theo’s head. Now there was nothing between him and Scott.
‘Gotcha!’ Scott lunged at Theo, just missing him.
With a gasp of pure fear, Theo scurried back faster, using every part of his body, wriggling like a snake.
Scott placed both hands in the shaft and heaved himself upwards, trying to get after Theo. Only he cracked his head on the top of the shaft and sank out of sight, swearing fluently.
‘I hope you’ve split your head wide open!’ Theo called after him, still scurrying backwards.
Ahead, he heard the sound of running footsteps, but strangely enough they were running away from him rather than towards him. Puzzled, Theo slowed down, then stopped. Where was Scott going? Why wasn’t he coming after him? Theo got up on all fours, wondering why he hadn’t done it sooner. It would’ve been so much easier to move. He leaned forward and listened very carefully. Silence. What was Scott up to? The silence stretched on for ever.
Then Theo realized. Scott was going to come up behind him. That was the only explanation. He hurled himself forward, not stopping until he got to the grille opening. The basement seemed all clear, but maybe it was a trick. And where was Angela? Theo could only hope that she was safe and hiding somewhere where Scott wouldn’t find her.
‘Do something …’ Theo muttered to himself.
But what? Scott might be hiding somewhere behind one of the pillars in the basement, just waiting for him. But on the other hand, maybe Scott had left the basement and was entering the shaft from another entrance, trying to cut him off. Theo looked around again. How could he get down without breaking his neck? A fat lot of use he’d be to Ricky then. The table was underneath the shaft but it looked a long way down. A very long way down.
Theo swallowed hard. Jump … That was easier said than done, but he couldn’t hang about in the shaft all day, especially with Scott after him. Theo curled himself up into a ball, manoeuvring so that his feet were under him. He leaned back, kicking his legs out before him so that they dangled out of the shaft. Then he sat up, his legs dangling out over the wall, but now came the hard part. Theo took a deep breath and held it. He swivelled the top part of his body and kicked off with his legs, letting
his feet slap into the wall to absorb the impact before the rest of his body. He now dangled down from the tunnel, facing the wall with only his fingertips holding him up – and his arms were already aching.
Theo pushed off with his hands. Barely a second passed before he made contact with the table. He bent his knees the way he’d been taught in PE but a shock like lightning zapped up his right leg. Theo grimaced and slid down off the table. The moment his right foot touched the floor, pain like nothing he had ever felt before flamed through his leg. He dropped to the floor, clutching his foot. Beads of perspiration dampened his forehead and trickled down his back. The basement started to swim around him. The light rocked back and forth, growing more and more dim.
‘Don’t pass out. Don’t you dare pass out,’ Theo muttered, fighting down the waves of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him.
He had to get up. He had to move before Scott caught him. Most people already thought he was pretty feeble. Was he going to prove them right or wrong now? Theo struggled to his feet. He touched his right foot down onto the ground. Sharp, intense pain speared through his leg again. His mouth filled with cool saliva, which he swallowed convulsively. He had to get out of there. Gritting his teeth, Theo hopped towards the exit doors at the far side of the basement. With a little luck, Scott would be busy searching for him in the tun—
The exit doors burst open. Scott stood stock still, filling the doorway. He took a step forwards. Theo took a step backwards, never taking his eyes off the man before him. Scott took another step forwards. Theo took another step back. It was like some strange dance between the two of them. Then Scott broke into a run. Theo turned, stumbling, before he picked himself up and pelted towards the shaft. The pain in his ankle was distant, low down on the list of his current priorities. His heart hammered and his blood roared in his ears. But where was he running to? There was nowhere to go. The entrance of the shaft was far too high to get to, even if he managed to jump up onto the table. He’d just have to … But Theo got no further.
In the next moment, he found himself swept off his feet. He lashed out, flailing with his feet, his elbows, hitting backwards with his head. Scott groaned and swore viciously, but his arms were like a vice around Theo’s chest.
‘Let me go! LET ME GO!’ Theo shouted, struggling harder.
Scott held him up higher, his arms wrapped around Theo’s chest in a bear hug. Theo’s feet were a good thirty centimetres off the ground. In amongst all the panic and fear, Theo felt the pain of his ribs being squeezed tight. He had to do something – before Scott broke all his ribs, before he passed out. Theo stretched his legs out in front of him, until they were almost at right angles with the rest of his body. Then he bent his head and bit as hard as he could into Scott’s arm, kicking back with his legs at the same time. As Theo’s heels made hard contact with Scott’s shins, Theo ignored the pain dancing in his ankle and kicked back again, biting down harder into Scott’s forearm.
‘Oww!’ Scott hollered, dropping Theo to the floor.
Theo sprang up immediately, ready to leg it, when he heard a clunk and a crash, followed by the sound of wood splintering. He turned and leaped to one side – just in time. Scott hit the floor like a felled tree. And there behind him stood Angela, still holding what was left of the wooden chair she’d applied to Scott’s back and head. Her face was paper white as she stared down at Scott.
‘Is … is he dead?’ Angela whispered.
Theo squatted down and cautiously felt Scott’s wrist. ‘I can feel his pulse beat – and he’s still breathing,’ he replied at last.
Angela breathed a huge sigh of relief. Only then did she realize that she was still holding what was left of the chair. She dropped it as if it was suddenly burning her hands.
‘We’d better tie him up before he wakes up,’ Theo decided.
‘Do we have to?’ Angela backed away.
‘I think so. It’d be safer. You look through the holdall, I’ll keep an eye on him,’ Theo said. ‘Oh, and Angela?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Thanks!’
‘You’d do the same for me,’ Angela shrugged. And she and Theo smiled at each other.
Minutes later, Scott’s feet were bound and his hands were securely tied behind his back using some stout rope from his own holdall. And in all that time he hadn’t moved a muscle.
‘Will he be all right, d’you think?’ Angela asked.
‘Yeah, of course. Anyway, who cares?!’ Theo dismissed. He had a lot more on his mind than some criminal scuzbucket who’d tried to separate his head from his body. ‘Did you find Ricky? Is he somewhere else in this building?’
Angela shook her head. ‘I didn’t get the chance to search properly. I was having a hunt around when I heard you shout something about hoping someone had split their head. I reckoned I should duck down and keep out of sight after that.’
‘OK then. Let’s search this place from top to bottom,’ Theo suggested. He took another look at Scott. ‘We should gag him first.’
Theo took out the hankie that Mum had insisted he carry with him until he was totally over his cold and twirled it around until it was a thick cord of none-too-clean material. Squatting down, he pulled it between Scott’s teeth and tied it in a double knot at the back of his head.
‘And stay there!’ he ordered the still unconscious body.
He and Angela set off towards the exit, but Theo had barely taken a step when his ankle made its presence felt. He winced, immediately raising his right foot off the floor.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Angela.
‘I did something to my ankle when I jumped down from the ventilator shaft,’ Theo explained.
‘Is it broken?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t think so,’ Theo said doubtfully. When Scott had chased him, he’d still managed to use it so it couldn’t be broken. Mind you, his adrenalin level must’ve been off the scale so maybe he just couldn’t feel it then.
‘Wait here. I’ll go and have a look,’ said Angela.
‘But …’
‘You can’t do much with a bad foot. Besides, you’d only slow me down,’ Angela pointed out.
She didn’t even wait for Theo to reply, before running off.
Theo watched her go, his lips a hard line across his face. Angela had no right to treat him like a spare tyre, like he was totally useless. Why did people always do that? It was as if everyone in the universe only remembered his name when they wanted something from him. Otherwise he didn’t exist. He was always one of the last to get picked when sides were being chosen for football. When he put his hand up in class to answer a question, he practically had to jump up and down on his desk before Mrs Daltry even knew he was there. The only sure way he could get her attention was to have a cold and sneeze all over her. Everyone ignored him – except Ricky. Ricky didn’t think he was a waste of space …
Theo waited and waited, gently twisting his foot first one way, then the other. It wasn’t too bad now.
Time passed. Where was she? Theo didn’t hear a sound from anywhere in the warehouse.
‘You idiot!’ he suddenly hissed to himself.
Angela was probably out of the warehouse and well on her way to warning her brother by this time.
But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. She knocked Scott out, Theo reminded himself.
So what? All Angela cared about was her brother. And she certainly wasn’t going to let Theo mess things up for Tom and herself.
‘Angela?’ Theo hobbled forward. ‘ANGELA?’
No reply. She was obviously long gone. But what had Theo expected?
‘Moron!’ Theo berated himself through gritted teeth.
Now what? Angela had gone. And where was Ricky? He’d failed again …
Chapter Seventeen
The Irving Museum
BEHIND HIM, SCOTT groaned. Theo turned. Scott was still lying on his stomach, his hands behind his back. He raised his head and shook it, as if to clear it. Theo instinctively backed away, ig
noring the sudden sharp pain in his ankle. Scott turned his head, his eyes chips of ice when he saw Theo.
‘Llmm … m … ou … plem …’ What he lacked in coherence, Scott made up for in volume.
Theo increased the distance between the two of them. Scott tried to crawl like a caterpillar towards Theo, but gave up after moving only a few centimetres. Even though Theo couldn’t make out what he was saying, there was no mistaking the blazing fury in his eyes or the tension which kept his whole body rigid.
‘Llmm … m … ou … ymm … toa …’
‘The same to you, mate!’ Theo replied.
He turned and hobbled to the door. Surprisingly, with each step, the pain was growing slightly easier. He opened the door and hopped out into the small hall. There were toilets on the left and a staircase leading up to the ground floor on the right.
‘ANGELA …?’ Theo tried again.
‘What’s the matter?’ Angela called from the top of the stairs. ‘Ricky’s not here. Robbie must have taken Ricky with him when we were still in the ventilator shaft.’
‘So what do we do now?’ Theo asked.
‘No police. Not yet,’ Angela said quickly. ‘I don’t want my brother to get into trouble.’
‘Isn’t it a bit late for that?’ Theo asked.
Angela shook her head. ‘Not necessarily. Once Tom sees that Robbie decided to use Ricky as a hostage after all, he might see sense.’
‘I’m fed up waiting for your brother to grow a brain,’ said Theo with contempt. ‘This job – whatever it is – is going to happen at the local museum so I think we …’
‘Museum?’ Angela interrupted.
‘Before Robbie left the warehouse he told Scott not to be late to the Irving. The only Irving around here is the Irving Museum,’ Theo explained.
‘Of course!’ Angela breathed. ‘That explains those drawings I saw.’
‘What drawings?’
‘I’ll explain when we get there. Theo, we can do this. We don’t need anyone else. We can get Ricky and Tom out of there.’ An uncomfortable pause followed as Theo considered his next move. ‘Theo, are you coming with me?’
‘What d’you think?’ Theo replied, his voice hard. But uncertainty gnawed at him like a hungry dog with a bone.