The Terminus (19 page)

Fresh
blood? Even I know blood clots within five minutes.

“Expect the
other girls decided to go for a walk,” Blinker remarked, changing the subject.
“Taken the shuttle-bus or something.”

“To the
Terminus? Where it all ends? End of the line? It’s what ‘Terminus’ means. Why
would they have left Cathy behind? Anyway, these doors don’t open from the
inside.”

Mike scowled
at Blinker, awaiting an explanation for the girl’s needle marks.

“Only those
authorised by The Agenda can ever reach the Terminus.”

Blinker seemed
distant... or was he, Mike, changing?

Creepy
place like this is bound to change a bloke... get to him sooner or later.
And
perhaps blood takes longer to clot under the sea or in the future?

“So, we just
sit here till I get inspiration, ay?” Mike suggested. “Or wait for more
machete-swinging brutes to come hacking their way through that front door?”

The computer
made an electronic noise and flickered back to life. Mike glanced at the
screen. It was
him
again… Teeth!

***

A woman carrying
a rucksack stepped off a number 210 bus and peered anxiously in all directions.

“Told you
she’d show up,” Gary said to
Beetie.

He waited
until the bus was gone and he could be certain no one was following her, before
waving. She hurried across the road.

“Gary?
What on earth…?” she asked

“No time to
explain, Mum. Did you get everything?”

“You look
ridiculous!”

“Sorry, but we
can’t hang around. By now they could be all over the place searching for
Beetie.”

“What do you
plan to do? Sleep on the Heath dressed like that? You’ll stand out a mile. Gary,
this whole thing’s crazy.
Dad’s
all for calling the
police and bringing you to your senses.
Even talked about
getting a psychiatrist.
Says teenagers are going off the rails all the
time.
Mentioned counselling.”

Two pigeons
landed on the pavement beside the pond. One, the male, puffed himself up,
stretched his neck and began stalking the female who zigzagged a futile escape,
her head nodding with each step. Gary
took out his mag-stunner.

“Over there.
Those pigeons. Watch!” he told his mother.

Two ‘
ZINGS
’
and both birds stopped moving. Gary’s
mum’s jaw dropped.

“A
mag-stunner,” the boy explained. “From the future. It’s okay. I haven’t killed
them. In three minutes he’ll be after her again like nothing happened. Quite
painless. Not the same as a Taser. I’d love to learn how it works, mind you.”

“That robbery,
Gary
?
Did you really…?” his mum began slowly, staring at the
motionless pigeons.

“If those
bastards didn’t have Mike and the other time-specs, Mum, I could spend the rest
of the day explaining.”

She handed him
the rucksack and smiled at Beetie.

“He’s telling
the truth, Mum,” the girl said. “He
always
tells the truth.”

The woman’s
face fell. Her lips began to tremble and her eyes moistened.

“Mum?” she questioned.

“I… I don’t
know what else to call you. Gary
calls you ‘Mum’, so I thought…”

Gary’s
mum reached out and stroked Beetie’s cheeks.

“Mum’s fine!
It’s just… well, I never imagined I’d hear a girl call me that again.” A warm
smile lit up Beetie’s face. “Oh, how can
anyone
be so lovely? And you’re
right. I don’t think my son’s ever told a lie. Gary,
this came for you.” She pulled out an envelope, handing it to Gary.
“Someone posted it through the door before we left.”

Gary
took the envelope and tore it open.

“So you’re in
hiding, you and Dad?”

“Yes... a B
& B in Golders Green.”

“And you’re
sure you weren’t being followed? From a distance?”

He read the
letter.

“As sure as I
can be. Why? What’s it say?”

Gary
glanced at Beetie.

“From Redfor.
He says God wants to see
you
, Mum.
Knows they’ve got the time-specs… and knows about Mike. Heavens, I dunno what
to think about Redfor! Why would he have saved me from Blinker and Teeth if he
was with them? God says he
must
speak with
you soon… before
they
get to you...” He paused. “And apparently The Agenda know we’re somewhere here
on Hampstead Heath.”

“I’ll give
myself up,” Beetie said. “We can’t escape. Don’t know why I tried. I’ll go back
to the Chairman. Exchange myself for Mike and let him…”

“NO YOU BLOODY
WON’T!” shouted Gary.
The knuckles on his clenched fists turned white.
“NEVER!”

“Gary,
if they’ve got Mike I must. The Chairman gets me and you get Mike back. It’s
all so easy! You’ve no idea what they’ll do to him and it’ll be my fault. I
can’t go on living here knowing what could happen to your friend in the grey
block. You must understand!”

Beetie’s eyes
were wet with tears.
Gary
’s mum’s, too.
Redfor’s letter trembled in the boy’s hand.
He’d never before felt so utterly helpless.

“Come back
with me, Gary,” his mum said. “If
you
won’t come, I’m taking Beetie.
You’re right. We can’t let the person you talk about get hold of her. I’ve no
idea what’s happening, or who this Chairman is, but we’re not exchanging her.
Besides, Mike could talk himself out of anything.” Mrs O’Driscoll hugged the
sobbing girl. “There, there!” she soothed. “Once Gary’s
mind is made up nothing will get in his way. He’s brought you back and decided
to look after you here, so he’s never going to let them harm you. Oh Gary,
honestly, you two mustn’t run risks by sleeping rough on the Heath tonight.
It’s a crazy idea.”

“Yeah!
You’re probably right! No longer safe here. You
are
certain no one trailed you to your B& B?”

His mum
nodded, whilst Beetie looked frightened and confused.

“Okay! We’ll
take the bus to Golders Green.”

“Not dressed
in those rags, you won’t! A taxi!”

“A what?”
asked Beetie anxiously.

“Instead of a
bus,” explained Gary.
“For people with money.
Like cars, only they stop for you.
Take you anywhere you...”

“The Hatcheries?
The grey building?
Please
don’t!”
the girl begged.

“Never!
Anyway, nothing’s happening in the grey building here in the present.”

But can I
be sure
, thought the boy?

Gary’s
mum had her mobile phone out, dialled a number and put it to her ear.

“The Mini-cab service
Dad uses,” she explained. “Never lets us down.”

Within minutes
a bright yellow mini-cab pulled up beside them. The door opened. Mrs O’Driscoll
leaned inside and spoke to the driver, half-hidden from view.

“Not the usual
man,” she said, turning to Gary and Beetie. “Never mind! Get in.” She climbed
in beside the taxi-driver whilst Gary
followed Beetie into the back seat.

“He’s waiting
for you,” the man said.

Who the
heck
...
and that hairstyle?
Gary
wondered.

“My husband?
Oh no! He’s gone for a walk,” corrected Mrs
O’Driscoll. “This whole business has really put him on edge.”

“It’ll be all
go afterwards. God’s got nothing else to bargain with.”

Mrs O’Driscoll
chuckled.

“Don’t think
God…”

That
pudding-basin hairstyle… and in the windscreen mirror a flash of glossy red
where the driver’s black leather jacket gaped open? Gary
fumbled for his mag-stunner but wasn’t quick enough. The mini-cab shot forwards
and spun round, throwing him on top of Beetie, before heading in the wrong
direction towards

“MUM!” yelled Gary
as he struggled with the depthless pocket of Seamus O’Malley’s
once-posh-now-tattered suit. “HE’S ONE OF
THEM!”

Only the lower
part of the driver’s face was visible in the mirror, reduced, like the Cheshire
Cat
, to just a grin.

“Yeah! It’s
all go now!” he repeated.

Gary
found the mag-stunner, pointed the thing at the back of the man’s head and
pressed the button.

“
ZIN
G!”

The man
laughed.

“I mag-stunned
myself ten minutes ago. It’ll be another twenty before one of those can have
any effect again… by which time she’ll be two hundred years away. I’m afraid
things’ll need a little sorting out by God – the
old
God – because of
what your reckless friend’s gone and done…”

“GRAB THE
STEERING WHEEL FROM HIM, MUM!”

“Gary,
I can’t…”

“DO IT!”

Mrs O’
Driscoll reached over, but the driver smacked her across the face with the back
of his hand.

“Ouch!” she
cried. “You beast!”

“Gary
O’Driscoll, his mum and little Mike, eh?” taunted the cab-driver. “Tell you
what. Belinda can watch the Chairman… the
real
God… prepare you all for
the gee-rats’ final feast in the grey building! Their Last Supper! Ha ha ha!
You’d
understand that wouldn’t you, Catholic boy! But just think… what we get
from your collective brains will make it all come true for Belinda.”

The mini-cab
screamed round corners, broke through red lights, swerving to avoid crosswise
traffic, careered over to the wrong side of the road to miss a queue of cars
and shot off at break-neck speed, dodging oncoming vehicles. Gary’s
mum bravely attempted to wrest the steering wheel from the driver but his grip
was too strong. Gary tried, in
vain, to control the man’s arms from behind, and the car was already racing
towards St John’s Wood.

He spotted a
parked police vehicle ahead.

Thank God!
 
They’ll
stop the bastard!

But as they
flashed past the two officers inside remained motionless.

Mag-stunned?
Dead?
Oh shit!

Without
warning, Beetie pushed Gary aside,
reached forward and dug her knuckles into the back of the driver’s neck at the base
of his skull. The man’s head sank forwards, limp, the mini-cab half-turned,
skidded sideways and clipped another vehicle, causing it to spin out of
control. Mrs O’Driscoll grabbed the freed steering wheel and turned the car in
the direction of Golders Green.

“Sorry!”
apologised Beetie. “I thought…”

“Wow, cool!
What did you do?”

“It suddenly
came back to me. Saw Arthry do the same thing once when a guy from The Agenda
broke into the Retreat.”

“Your
hair-band, Beetie!”

The girl
removed her blue hair-band and handed it to Gary
whilst his mother steered the car from the passenger seat, one hand on the
wheel, the other on the accelerator pedal, muttering about the difficulties
sons caused compared with daughters. Gary
slipped the hair-band round the neck of the unconscious driver and tugged at
the ends.

“What are you
doing?” shrieked Beetie. “You’ll kill him!”

Gary
ignored her, his face distorted like a horror movie poster. The girl clutched
at his arm.

“It’s what the
bastard deserves!”

“Gary!
Don’t be like
them
!”

The man jerked
convulsively, grunting and clawing at hair-band.

“Gary,
stop it!”

“
No
one’s gonna hand you back to some prehistoric prick!”

He pulled more
tightly as the barely conscious driver’s hands clawed at his neck.

“Please don’t!
The Gary inside my head wouldn’t do
this!”

Beetie started
to hit Gary. The mini-cab swung
round a corner at Swiss Cottage, halting sharply when Mrs O’Driscoll punched
the brake. Gary was thrown
forwards; Beetie’s hair-band fell from the boy’s hands onto the driver’s lap. Gary’s
mum reached across and snatched it up to bind the grunting man’s wrists.

“OUT!” she
ordered.

Gary and
Beetie clambered out of the mini-cab. The driver was coming to. He began to
bite at the binding round his wrists. Gary
opened man’s door, hit him in the face, removed a shoe from his kicking leg and
wedged this under the brake pedal. He slipped the gear into neutral.

“PUSH!” he
yelled, slamming the door shut.

Beetie stood
back, in tears, whilst Gary and his mother pushed the mini-cab forwards. It began
to roll down the slope, gathering speed.

Gary
had to drag along a reluctant Beetie behind him as they hurried back up the
hill to

“He just gets
overwrought. Oh, if only I’d had two daughters like you instead!” she said.
“Ah, thank heaven… there’s another taxi! I’ll…”

“No more
bloody taxis!” interrupted Gary.

He was
furious… not
with
Beetie but
because
of her. Never
with
her!
It was his damned fault if his temper had gone and ruined things for good.
“We’ll take the bus,” he added quietly.

They walked on
to the number 82 bus-stop in silence. Gary
tried to take Beetie’s hand again but she resisted. She wouldn’t look at him, wouldn’t
say a word.

“Beetie, I was
only trying to stop him from taking you back to the Hatcheries. Don’t you
understand?” The girl stared sullenly ahead, her moist eyes avoiding Gary’s
gaze. “Like when I threw a machete at that Hatcheries guy who
was about to mag-stun you
. Remember?”

A solitary
tear trailed down her cheek. Gary’s
anger swelled… against The Agenda for trying to steal her back and himself for
not understanding why she was acting like this. He felt angry for being unable
to fathom her. At the bus stop Mrs O’Driscoll comforted Beetie,
now crying
against her chest, whilst Gary
stood a few feet away feeling stupid and hurt. On the bus to Golders Green, he
sat behind his mother and the girl who meant so much to him and who had shut
him out. He listened to his mum tell her about his little sister and the joy of
having a daughter before the fatal accident a year back, and about himself and
her pride in his achievements at school.