The Last Enemy(55)

‘No!’ he begged, and he half turned, flinching away from the bullet he knew would be coming, and as he did so he saw the brown paper package with ‘Malichea — The Index’ written on it in faded letters.





Chapter 27




‘It’s here!’ he breathed.

‘What?’ queried Guy, suspicion still in his voice.

‘The Index!’ exclaimed Jake. He pointed a trembling finger at the package. ‘Look! There! They’ve even labelled it!’ He took the package off the shelf and held it out towards Guy, so he could see the lettering on it.

Guy snatched the package from Jake, his eyes lighting up with greed.

‘This is it!’ he said, awed. ‘The Index!’

‘Make the phone call!’ begged Jake. ‘You promised!’

The thought of the phone call jerked Guy back into the present.

‘Once we’re back outside,’ he snapped.

‘That wasn’t part of the deal!’ protested Jake desperately.

‘I’m the one with the gun, Jake,’ said Guy menacingly. ‘I say the terms of the deal.’ He gestured at the leather-bound Malichea books on the shelf. ‘Grab those and bring them with us.’

Jake scooped the Malichea books up in his arms.

‘OK,’ said Guy. ‘Let’s go.’

They ran back to the side door through which they’d come in. All the time, Jake was expecting someone to appear and gun them down, but it seemed there was only the one soldier on duty at a time actually inside the hangar. It made sense; with the high levels of security checking people coming in, it was highly unlikely the wrong people would be able to make it inside. Except today. Today, he and Guy had got in, and they had The Index. Now all they had to do was get out, and Lauren would be saved.

There were no security checks needed to get back out into the open, no ID scanners, no fingerprint checks.

‘OK,’ said Guy once they were outside. ‘Get back into the boot. The guards only saw one of us drive in, we don’t want to raise suspicion by them seeing two of us going out.’

Jake threw the Malichea books on the back seat, then opened the boot, peeled back the carpet, and climbed into the small space. Guy pulled the carpet over him.

Jake heard Guy getting into the car and the engine starting up. Then it began to move forward, stopping shortly afterwards. Jake heard the exchange between the soldiers on duty and Guy, with Guy sounding as relaxed as ever. Again, there were no fingerprint checks needed to get out, just a quick flash of the ID card Guy was carrying; and then there was the sound of mechanics as the gate swung open, and the car drove through.

The car drove for a short way, and pulled up.

Maybe he’s making that phone call? thought Jake desperately. But instead he heard the boot open and the carpet was peeled back. Guy stood there, holding the gun. They were in the same car park where they’d parked before.

‘Right, Jake. Get back in the driving seat. The guards saw you driving me in the main gate, so we’ll let them see the same thing going out. You at the wheel. Me in the back. Again, there’s no sense in having them asking awkward questions about what happened to you, and where you were dropped off.’

‘The phone call to Des,’ said Jake urgently. He showed Guy his watch. ‘It’s twenty-three minutes past. Seven minutes.’

‘It’ll be fine,’ Guy told him reassuringly. ‘In two minutes we’ll be out through the main gate. I saw a lay-by about a hundred metres away from the main gate as we drove in. It’s sheltered by trees. Pull up there. I’ll make the call from there.’

Jake jumped behind the steering wheel of the SUV. Seven minutes! He prayed they wouldn’t be held up going through the main gate.

Guy got into the back, the gun cradled in his hand. Jake guessed The Index was next to him on the seat.

‘Just remember, I’ve got the gun trained on you, just like before,’ Guy reminded him. ‘And you need me to make that call.’

‘No tricks,’ Jake assured him.

Jake drove back along the main route of the base, fighting the urge to go at speed, but desperate not to be stopped for breaking the 10 mph speed limit. They reached the main gate, and the barrier.

Once again, Jake and Guy showed their ID cards to the soldier on duty in the cabin. Jake shot a glance at the clock in the dashboard. 17:26. Four minutes to go.

Raise the barrier! he begged silently. Instead, the soldier inside the cabin turned and began to talk to his companion.

No! thought Jake. Stop talking! Raise the barrier!

The clock moved to 17:27. Three minutes to go!

Jake was about to lower his window and shout at the soldier, but before he could, the soldier pressed a button, and the barrier rose. Jake drove the SUV through.