The Time Pirate (29 page)

And out the door they went, both of them knowing there was dire trouble ahead, no matter what the plan was. Billy Blood was a wily, vicious, and cruel man. And extricating Kate from his clutches would be no spring stroll in the garden. But Nick, Gunner, and Hawke had crossed swords with Captain William Blood before, and they had won.

Nick believed in his heart of hearts that he and Gunner just might be able to do it again. What was a battle for, if not for winning?

A
sudden storm was threatening and Hawke Castle looked dark and foreboding. It stood atop the cliff, thrusting toward a lowering sky of black clouds sparking with lightning. Nick and Gunner were silent as they climbed the hill that led to Lord Hawke's hulking Gothic residence. Both of them were thinking the same thing. This would be their one and only chance to save little Katie.

As they approached the forbidding iron gates at the entrance, they saw the towering clouds begin to spit rain. Inside the castle, two of the most brilliant men in all England were waiting. Without their help, all would be lost.

Nick saw brand-new signs mounted all along the iron fence, frightening things, warning KEEP OUT! and that the surrounding barbed-wire fence was electrified to ten thousand volts. The signs were, Nick noticed, printed in both English and German. Each one depicted a large red jagged bolt of electricity piercing a skull and crossbones. It was certainly enough to scare anyone away.

“I think His Lordship's trying to say, ‘Pop in for tea any time,' ” Gunner grumbled. He had never been comfortable here. Too many old tales of ghosts and spirits for his liking.

“He has to protect the castle during the occupation. Lord Hawke is joining Churchill's war cabinet. Part of a new counterespionage unit. He and Hobbes may be away for the balance of the war,” Nick said. “This is, after all, a secret British military installation.”

“So how do we get in, Master Nick?”

“Easy.” Nick bent to push a nearly invisible black button on the back side of the bottom of a gatepost.

“Yes?” came a deep voice over a hidden speaker.

“Hobbes, it's Nick and Gunner.”

“Ah, good. I'll buzz you in straightaway.”

Minutes later, they entered the great hall. Every single piece of furniture had been covered with dust-cloths, as had all the art and sculpture. It seemed to Nick like a castle filled with silent ghosts. There were a few uncovered chairs before the massive fire roaring in the hearth, and Lord Hawke was sitting in one of them, one leg hooked over the arm of his chair, enjoying his tea.

He stood to greet them. “Nicholas! Gunner! What joy to see you both. We're shoving off for the mainland tomorrow, you know, closing the old pile down for the duration. I've already sent little Alex and Annabel to Hawkesmoor in the Gloucestershire countryside. Pull up a chair and sit down, won't you both? Hobbes and I are just having tea.”

“Welcome,” Hobbes said, pouring tea for them and offering a tray of cakes.

Hobbes cleared his throat and said, “Nick, I must tell you I am at an absolute loss for words to describe my reaction to your mischief over on Guernsey in the wee hours last evening. His Lordship and I saw the fiery effects of your daring raid on the aerodrome last night. I must say you wreaked havoc on those bloody Jerries. Surely you took
some antiaircraft fire? But you obviously managed to get the Camel home safe?”

“Afraid not,” Nick said, looking down at his feet. “She lies in about thirty feet of water.”

Lord Hawke looked at Nick. “Bad luck. But look at it this way. She was built in 1917 to fight the Germans, and fight them she did. And now, thanks to you and Gunner, she lived to fight them another day. Went out in a blaze of glory, too, I daresay. Well done!”

“I don't know about glory, but she was certainly blazing,” Nick said, a hint of a smile forming around his eyes. The truth was he had actually enjoyed the air raid and his narrow escape from the Germans. He'd always hoped that someday he might get the chance to become a true hero and come to the aid of his country. His one regret was that the beautiful aeroplane was lost . . . and, with it, his opportunities of future air attacks on the Nazis.

Hobbes seemed to have been reading his mind. “You know, she may be salvageable.”

“What?” Nick said. “How on earth?”

“Relatively simple matter. A diver goes down and attaches numerous canvas bladders with air hoses. Wait for a dark night, position a boat with an air pump above her. Inflate the bladders and she'll pop right to the surface and you tow her home.”

“Excellent idea,” Hawke said, “and the time may well come when we do that, but right now I have the feeling there are more pressing problems.”

Hawke leaned forward and looked at Nick and Gunner. “Nick, when you rang, you said you had two urgent matters to discuss. Let's get right to it. We haven't much time. A Royal Navy submarine is picking the commander and me up inside Hawke Lagoon at dawn.”

Nick drew a deep breath and let it all out. “Two things, sir. The Nazis have imprisoned my parents, sir. Took them to the Guernsey prison, where they are being interrogated.”

“Interrogated about what?”

“About a missing German parachutist on Greybeard Island.”

“Surely they don't know anything about that?”

Nick looked at Gunner, now wishing he'd told the truth. “They do, I'm afraid. My father does, at any rate. I found the German soldier myself, hanging in a tree from his chute. He was already dead and we buried him.”

“I can help there, Nicholas,” Hawke said. “Fleur de Villiers has the new Nazi Kommandant wrapped around her little finger. One word from her, and your parents will be treated with kid gloves, I assure you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Nick said, much relieved. He was surprised he hadn't thought of contacting her himself. Then he remembered that the Germans had cut all the undersea telephone cables. No doubt Lord Hawke had other ways of communicating with her, of course.

“And the other matter, Nick?” Hobbes said.

Nick turned and looked directly at him. His eyes blazing with anger and resolve. “Billy Blood has kidnapped my sister, Kate.”

“Good Lord,” Hobbes said, his teacup rattling, hot tea sloshing over the rim. Hawke got to his feet, visibly shaken. Billy Blood has Kate! You do have a lot on your plate, Nick. Any idea where he's taken her?”

“There was a ransom note, written in Kate's hand. She's been taken to Port Royal, Jamaica.”

“What year?” Hawke asked.

“In the year 1781.”

“No doubt what ransom he's after,” Hobbes said, a worried frown on his face.

“Of course, Hobbes. He wants possession of the second Tempus Machina,” Hawke murmured, gazing into the fire thoughtfully. “He won't rest until he gets it.”

Nick said, “He threatens to hang Katie by her heels and slit her throat if I don't arrive with the golden orb in hand within forty-eight hours.”

“You can't let him have it, Nick,” Hawke said with great conviction. “You simply cannot do it. It would make that devil powerful beyond imagination. With possession of both time machines, he would be unreachable.”

“I know that, sir, and that's why I don't intend to give it to him.”

“You have a plan, Nick?” Hobbes asked. “A
ruse de guerre
?”

“What's that?” Gunner asked.”

“A trick of war,” Hawke translated. “Like the Trojan horse. Please proceed, Nick. We obviously need some kind of scheme, and we need it now.”

“This may sound a bit cockeyed, but . . .”

“Don't be shy, lad, spit it out.”

Nick clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing back and forth before the fire. “Well, Hobbes, I was thinking, perhaps it might be possible to create another Tempus Machina. Not a working one, of course. But an exact replica of my own, to the last detail. Down in your laboratory. It has to be absolutely identical to the real thing, inside and out.”

“You exchange the fake one for your sister's freedom.”

“Yes. And by the time Old Bill realizes he's been tricked, I hope we'll be long gone. I've thought long and hard about this. I think it's our only chance.”

“I think it's brilliant,” Hawke said. “And with a little luck, it might actually work.”

“Can you make one, Commander?” Nick said, hope gleaming in his eyes, “A perfect simulation of Da Vinci's time engine?”

Hobbes smiled and said, “I can make anything in that laboratory, Nick. Anything in the world.”

“Needless to say, it won't need to be a working model,” Hawke said. “The minute Blood tries to actually use it, he'll know it's a fake.”

“It doesn't have to actually work, sir. It just needs to buy me and Gunner enough time alone with my sister so we might escape using the real machine.”

“Would you like Hobbes and me to accompany you, Nick? We'd be happy to help in any way we can.”

“Thank you, sir. I knew you would offer. But I think that Gunner and I, in some kind of disguise, stand a better chance alone.”

“If you don't return, there's no way on earth we can ever find you again, Nick,” Hawke said, “ever.”

“I know that, sir. But I believe in my heart we can succeed.”

“Well then,” Hobbes said, getting to his feet, “we've got a lot of work ahead of us down in the lab. You've brought the real machine?”

Nick stuck his right hand inside his shirt and withdrew the orb from the hidden leather pouch that hung beneath his arm. Hobbes took it and examined it carefully.

“We'll need real gold, of course. Do we have any gold bars left in the vault, Your Lordship? Any bullion at all?”

“Afraid not. It all went out with the last shipment. It sits safely in the Bank of England vault now.”

“That's a problem, then,” Hobbes said, rubbing his chin. “Difficult to simulate real gold to a man like Blood who deals in the stuff every day. He just might test it before he agrees to the exchange.”

“Test it?” Gunner asked, “How would he do that?”

“Quite simply,” Hobbes replied. “He'll splash it with a glass stopper which has been filled with nitric acid. If it's pure gold, twenty-four-karat, it will remain untouched and unchanged; if not, the solution will become blue from the formation of nitrate copper. False gold, you see, always contains copper.”

“So, we can't do it,” Nick said, crestfallen.

“Not without real gold, I'm afraid. No.”

“Hold on!” Hawke said, “There's still solid gold flatware and cutlery in the drawers in the pantry. Place settings won't be packed up and shipped over until this afternoon,” Hawke said, smiling. “Please feel free to melt down as many forks and spoons as you need, old fellow.”

Hobbes leaped to his feet. “Excellent! Come along, Nick, we'll go grab as many golden knives and spoons as we can. Melt them down, and we're off to the races!”

Nick had opened the Tempus Machina and held up both halves for Hobbes to see. “What about the interior, sir? That will be the most difficult. All these jewels and intricate etchings.”

“Yes, yes, but I think I can manage. We'll need real jewels, too, I'm afraid,” Hobbes said, examining it closely.

The machine had an emerald button to initiate time travel and a brilliant ruby to stop any motion, backward or forward. And small diamonds representing various constellations, and secret Greek and Egyptian symbols.

“Hobbes,” Hawke said, “you know the silver jewelry box atop the dresser in my dressing room? Inside is an old necklace my grandmother gave to me just before she died. It's a
lovely thing, all emeralds and rubies and diamonds. You're welcome to use it in any way you see fit.”

“Marvelous. Thank you,” Hobbes said, much relieved. Hawke laid a hand on Nick's shoulder. “And, Nick, don't worry. I'll get a message to the Baroness de Villiers about your parents immediately. They'll be quite safe while you're gone, I assure you.”

“With all due respect, sir, how will you reach her? The Germans have cut all the undersea lines between the islands.”

Hawke smiled. “Some of us have undersea telephonic lines the Germans are not aware of, lad.”

Nick, who felt as it he'd been holding his breath all day, expelled a great sigh of relief. There was now a chance, albeit a very slim one, that everything might turn out all right after all.

Of course, it could all go dreadfully wrong, as well.