The Firebird Mystery (15 page)

‘Another amazing tale,' Mr Bell said, shaking his head.

‘Now the time has come for you to speak to us of Phoenix,' Mr Doyle said. ‘Or perhaps you had best wait. It sounds like our kind host has arrived.'

The door was unlocked and a young man with an angular face and grey eyes entered. He had a crew cut and black-rimmed glasses. He reminded Jack of a librarian. He chortled at seeing Ignatius Doyle.

‘Well, bless me,' he said with a wry smile. ‘I never thought I'd see you behind bars.'

‘A momentary slip-up on MI5's part,' Ignatius Doyle assured him. ‘Allow me to introduce you to Thomas Griffin, the invisible man of MI5. He heads up most of the field work for the organisation.'

‘How do you gentlemen know each other?' Scarlet inquired.

‘A small matter involving a diamond, a purple parrot and a man with a false leg,' Mr Doyle explained.

‘Not so small,' Mr Griffin said. ‘If it weren't for Mr Doyle, a murderer would have escaped and the Crown Jewels would now be residing in Russia.' He sat down on the edge of the table. ‘But to other matters. It is vitally important that you give me whatever information you have concerning the Phoenix Society. Our nation's security—and indeed that of the world—lies in your hands.'

‘Phoenix has always been an organisation dedicated to peace,' Mr Bell said.

Paul Harker's face reddened. ‘You must remain silent,' he urged his companion. ‘Outsiders cannot be brought into our private affairs.'

‘It's too late!' Mr Bell said. ‘The Nazis have already infiltrated Phoenix and the Society is in chaos. We must marshal our resources in order to stop them.'

‘I cannot help you,' Mr Harker said.

‘Then don't!' Mr Bell snapped. ‘I, for one, am prepared to do my duty.'

He looked at everybody in the room until his gaze settled on his daughter.

‘First, I must apologise to Scarlet. I am sorry for having deceived you all these years. I promise you good intentions lay at the heart of my deceit.'

Scarlet shrugged. ‘Let the truth be told.'

‘It began with Leonardo da Vinci. The composite man. Artist. Inventor. Scientist. He studied anatomy and botany, the flight of birds, the action of the waves. He was interested in geology, mathematics, cartography. His mind never stopped working.'

‘But what is your connection with Leonardo?' Lucy Harker leaned forward.

‘Upon his death a number of associates—the chief one being his favourite pupil, Francesco Melzi—vowed his work would continue.'

‘But how could it?' Jack said. ‘He was dead.'

‘Leonardo was dead, but not the passion for knowledge he had instilled in others,' Joseph Bell explained. ‘Melzi could see the genius of Leonardo where others could not. He was the first to realise that Leonardo truly was one of the greatest minds who had ever lived. It could be centuries before others realised the true worth of Leonardo—if ever.'

‘And so the Phoenix Society was born,' Mr Doyle said.

‘Yes,' Mr Bell said. ‘The first member, of course, was Francesco Melzi. He sought out other men of his age who were prepared to assist.'

‘Assist him? How?' Scarlet asked.

‘Leonardo left copious notes. Thousands of pages of diagrams and inventions, theories and ideas. Melzi needed others to continue Leonardo's work, to help him build the devices that Leonardo had designed. To help nourish the many seeds that Leonardo had planted.'

Mr Griffin appeared puzzled. ‘But no-one ever built any of da Vinci's inventions.'

‘Not publicly. Melzi and the other members of the Phoenix Society knew how dangerous those creations could be in the wrong hands.'

‘What creations?' Thomas Griffin asked.

‘Leonardo designed dozens of inventions made for war,' Mr Bell explained. ‘The machine gun. Cluster bombs. Scythed chariots. Giant crossbows. Tanks. And he came up with the idea of flight centuries before anyone else.'

‘And I thought he was just a painter,' Jack said. ‘We saw his painting with the phoenix in your home. And we found the body of the Mona Lisa.'

‘Impressive,' Mr Bell nodded. ‘You've achieved much more than I thought. That painting inspired the society's name. Leonardo invented the preservation process used on the body of Lisa Gherardini. Her husband was a member of the society and asked that it be applied to her body upon her death.'

‘She looks completely lifelike,' Scarlet said.

‘Leonardo was centuries ahead of his time,' Mr Bell said. ‘He had many ideas, though little in the way of funds to make his dreams a reality. This was Francesco Melzi's goal. To raise the capital to build his creations—but he had to keep the work secret at all costs.'

‘But why?' Scarlet asked. ‘Why build them if they were not to be used?'

‘Because the human race was not ready,' Mr Bell explained. ‘Can you imagine if the machine gun were in use centuries ago? Or powered flight? Or tanks? We would have bombed ourselves back to the Stone Age.'

‘But most of those discoveries now exist,' Mr Doyle pointed out. ‘How can they threaten our survival now?'

‘The Phoenix Society succeeded in developing Leonardo's creations—but then we went further. The society continued to work in secret, building and designing and learning. Over the course of history the organisation has infiltrated every major scientific organisation on Earth—including the Darwinist League.'

‘The Darwinist League as well?' Mr Griffin said. ‘That's outrageous.'

‘And now the Society holds ultimate power in its grasp.'

‘You mean it has inventions more powerful than our own?'

‘More powerful?' Mr Bell's face clouded over. ‘No.
Infinitely
more powerful. Today's technology is medieval compared to the weaponry of the society.'

‘I find this hard to believe,' Mr Griffin said. ‘Do you have any proof?'

‘The proof is all around you,' Mr Bell said. ‘You saw the helicopter?'

‘My subordinates told me about it.'

‘And you are familiar with Terrafirma?'

‘You're not saying Milverton was part of this?'

‘Of course he was part of the Phoenix Society,' Mr Bell said. ‘He was operating within the Darwinist League at our behest. How else could they have achieved so much in the last ten years? Douglas Milverton told the League he was Terrafirma's creator, but it was really developed by the Phoenix Society a century ago. He sold the invention to private industrialists and made a fortune. James Partington did the same. It was greed that drove these men. Greed and power.'

‘But they are both...'

‘Dead.'

‘But surely the society did not have them killed,' Mr Griffin said.

‘No.' Mr Bell shook his head. ‘Murder is not the way of the Phoenix Society. Only the eternal quest for scientific knowledge. And for centuries that knowledge has been kept secret. Then Milverton and Partington used the Darwinist League to release selected inventions.'

‘And this was allowed?'

‘They offered to share the spoils with other members of the society.' Mr Bell clenched his jaw. ‘We were infected by their greed.'

‘Terrafirma is used by every country across the globe,' Mr Doyle said. ‘The income for you and the other members of the society must have been considerable.'

‘Many thousands of pounds, I would imagine,' Scarlet said.

‘Many
millions
of pounds,' Paul Harker corrected her. ‘Terrafirma has changed our world forever. It made Joseph and me and many others immensely rich.'

‘Except there was a problem,' Mr Doyle said.

‘Indeed,' Mr Bell agreed. ‘Allowing Milverton and Partington to release the inventions was like the crack in a dam. Knowledge of the society began to leak to outsiders.'

‘You're speaking about the Nazis,' Thomas Griffin said.

‘Tragically, yes,' Mr Bell confirmed. ‘They murdered both Milverton and Partington for information. Then they kidnapped both myself and Paul.'

‘And you told them all about the Phoenix Society.' Paul Harker shook his head in dismay. ‘You told them.'

‘I had to,' Mr Bell snapped. ‘They threatened Scarlet. They would have killed her if I had not spoken.'

‘How bad is all this?' Jack queried. ‘I mean, what's the worst that can happen?'

‘The worst?' Paul Harker looked ill. ‘The Phoenix Society is in possession of revolutionary secrets. They must not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. It could mean the end of all life on this planet.'

Shocked silence greeted the statement.

‘Bazookas,' Jack breathed.

‘You can't mean that, Father,' Lucy said.

‘I'm afraid so,' Paul Harker told her. ‘The Nazis will have untold power at their fingertips once they take control of the Phoenix lab.'

‘Then we must stop that from happening,' Thomas Griffin said. ‘Where is this lab?'

‘It's in the Swiss Alps,' Mr Bell said.

‘We must go there—and we must be prepared for battle.' Mr Griffin focused on the two men. ‘I trust you gentlemen will assist us?'

‘We will,' Mr Bell confirmed.

Paul Harker, on the other hand, looked dazed, as if events had moved too quickly for him. He could not hide his sadness. ‘I suppose we must move forward now. The Phoenix Society is no longer a secret and we cannot allow the Nazis to have access to all of its ideas and intelligence.' He studied the circle of faces around him. ‘You can rely upon me. I just pray we are not too late.'

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The airship was heated, but Jack still felt cold. He had suffered yet another restless night's sleep. This airship—the
Britannia
—was much larger than the
Lion's Mane
. The cigar-shaped vessel was under the command of Captain Bardle. Beneath its silver balloon hung a three-tiered gondola made of brass and iron.

Scarlet, her father, the Harker family and Mr Doyle had all taken passage along with a number of MI5 agents, including Griffin, and a contingent of soldiers. They had left an airfield in Manchester with a squadron of other airships. More vessels from France had joined the convoy, while a few Swiss ships were due to meet them at their destination.

Jack yawned. The sun was still low in the sky. A man in the galley had made him a hot chocolate and Jack cupped his hands around it to keep them warm. The drink was good, but it wasn't as good as those made by his mother, or Mr Doyle.

His parents' caravan at the circus had been a small, horse-drawn affair with a tiny cupboard packed with food supplies. On Monday evenings, after the show was finished, his mother would break out a tin of chocolate powder and heap a quantity into all their mugs. She would add hot milk, producing a sweet concoction that would make his head swim.

A sting of tears came to Jack's eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his compass.

‘You're up early,' a voice said.

He turned to see Scarlet Bell. She had salvaged a white blouse and a blue pinstripe walking skirt from somewhere. Her vibrant red hair tumbled across her shoulders.

‘I couldn't sleep,' Jack said. ‘How about you?'

‘Not very well,' the girl admitted. ‘I was quite restless thinking about the day ahead.' She pushed back her hair. ‘I believe Mr Doyle has spoken to Mr Griffin about those poor men on the island.'

‘What do you think will happen to them?'

‘I'm not sure. Perhaps the Darwinist League can find a cure for them.' Scarlet looked down. ‘What do you have there?'

She had spotted the compass in his hand. Jack explained it had been given to him by his parents before they died.

‘What happened to them?' Scarlet asked.

Jack tried to speak, but the words got stuck in his throat. Scarlet took his arm and squeezed it.

‘I'm awfully sorry,' she said. ‘That was tactless of me.'

‘No, it's all right.' He told her about the accident, showing her the locket of his parents. Scarlet said they were a handsome couple. ‘They were so careful,' Jack continued. ‘They checked the aerial rings and trapeze every day, as well as the nets. How they died will always be a mystery.'

‘Sometimes the most painful thing in life is not knowing.'

‘It's just so unfair.' There were tears in Jack's eyes now and he didn't care that Scarlet could see them. ‘I had an argument with my father that morning. I don't even remember what it was about, but I told him I didn't want to be in the circus anymore. I didn't mean it. I was angry.'

‘We all say things we don't mean.'

‘I was so stupid. I loved the circus.'

‘It sounds like you were very close to your parents. I thought I was close to my father. I'm not sure anymore.'

‘Because of the Phoenix Society?'

‘How could he keep such a thing secret from me? He's been lying to me all these years.'

‘I don't think he had a choice,' Jack said.

‘I still love him.' Scarlet gazed into the distance. ‘I always will, but I think I might go away when all this is done.'

‘Go? Where to?'

‘I don't know. The Brinkie Buckeridge books have been so inspiring to me. I want to start making my own life. I want to make the world a better and fairer place.'

‘For women?'

‘For everyone. HG Wells, the writer, has been an ardent supporter for women's rights, as well as science and education. If you improve the lot of women, you improve the entire society.'

A bell chimed.

‘That must be breakfast.' Scarlet brightened up. ‘Come along, Jack. Healthy mind, healthy body and all that.'

Jack realised he was famished. He gave the compass and photograph a quick polish before pocketing them and following Scarlet to the galley. The room was full of people eating and drinking. A dozen tables ran parallel across the middle of the room. A few soldiers were wolfing down porridge. Mr Doyle and the others had assembled around a table at the end. They looked up as Scarlet and Jack arrived.