We Can Be Heroes (10 page)

Stevie reminds me a bit of Blythe, who is a bit crazy and silly and is always hugging me and being annoying, but I kind of miss her. I wonder if I should do her one of the cartoons she likes and send it to her, but then I remember that she's away with her mum all summer, so she probably wouldn't get it anyway.

‘What you looking at?' Jed is right behind me when he says this. I must have been deep into my daydream
because you can usually hear him coming five minutes before he arrives.

‘Nothing,' I say.

‘Give me a go,' he says, grabbing the binoculars. He's up beside me now on the windowsill. He always moves so quickly that, when I was little, I used to think he had superpowers. I imagine him now with a cape and a superhero suit, whizzing through the clouds, one hand punching the air.

‘You been keeping an eye on the Unabomber?' He jerks his thumb at the Muhammed house across the road.

‘You can't see his room from here.'

‘Shame,' says Jed. ‘Reckon we need to get inside. Snoop around a bit. I bet he's got stuff up there. Information about his terror cell and that. Bet you don't even know what a terror cell is, do you?'

‘Course I do,' I say.

‘What is it then?'

‘Like a club for terrorists,' I reply, repeating a phrase Priti used earlier.

‘Exactly. He won't be operating on his own, will
he? There'll be loads of them in on it. You said they were going to Pakistan, didn't you? They've probably got links to a terror network over there. What we need to do is infiltrate their cell then bring it down.'

‘And how exactly do we find out who's in the cell?' I say.

‘We'll have to hack into his computer and bug his phone and go through all his things looking for clues. Should be cool!'

He's obviously not going to give up the binoculars, so I slide off the windowsill on to the bed.

‘Jed,' I say after a moment. ‘Are you sick?'

He pulls a stupid face. ‘Do I look sick to you?'

‘No,' I say. Because he doesn't. Not really.

‘Why you asking a stupid question like that then?'

‘I just wondered, that's all.'

‘Well, quit wondering. Are you any good at computer hacking?'

‘No,' I say.

‘Bugging devices?'

‘Can't we just ask your dad?'

Jed hesitates before saying, ‘What?'

‘You said he was into all that stuff. Counterterrorism and that?'

Jed hesitates. ‘Yeah, he is.'

‘So he'd have all that surveillance equipment, wouldn't he?'

Jed pauses again. ‘We can't bother him until we've got some concrete intel on the suspect.'

‘Right.'

‘In the mean time, we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way. Should be great!'

‘Great,' I say.

1. Why is he called Jed when his real name is Geoffrey (spelt with a ‘g')?

2. Why does he talk so loud?

3. Why will he only eat white bread and nothing that's green or orange?

4. Why doesn't he get a haircut?

5. Why does he think his dad's so great?

6. Why does he think his mum's so awful?

7. Why doesn't he ever see his mum?

8. What are the appointments about and why can't he tell his dad or Grandad about them?

9. Is he ill and, if so, why doesn't he look ill?

10. What is he dreaming about when he cries in his sleep?

‘We need to sneak into Shakeel's room and look for incriminating evidence,' Priti says.

‘Yeah, that's what I said!' Jed agrees.

We're all sitting in the tree house, keeping lookout for Zara and taking turns with the binoculars to spy on Shakeel.

‘You really think he's a suicide bomber?' I say.

‘You can just bet that if he is then the day he decides to do his bombing Mum will say he has to look after me and then it'll be yours truly being blown to smithereens.' Priti does a funny little bounce and pulls a face which I think is supposed to be her being blown up.

Jed laughs, but I don't.

‘I wonder if Ameenah knows about it,' Priti goes on.

‘Who's Ameenah?' asks Jed. It's meant to be my turn to use the binoculars, but he shows no sign of handing them over. He's been staring for ages at the
copse where Zara and Tyreese are hanging out.

‘Shakeel's fiancée. They're getting married in a few weeks.'

‘She's probably part of the cell then,' says Jed without taking his eyes off the copse.

‘But if he's getting married in a few weeks, why would he blow himself up?' I ask. ‘My mum says her wedding day was the happiest day of her life.'

‘My dad says it was the worst mistake of his!' says Jed.

‘I reckon it's an excuse to get out of all the wedding stuff,' says Priti. ‘We go well overboard on weddings. Loads of parties that go on all week – it's dead boring.'

‘What about the wedding night?' says Jed. ‘He won't want to miss that!'

‘
Eugh!
' says Priti. ‘You are sick. That's my brother you're talking about.'

‘So you reckon he's done it with this Ameenah already then?' says Jed.

‘I don't want to think about it,' says Priti, pulling a face. ‘But, knowing Shakeel, probably not.'

‘Why? Is she a moose?' asks Jed.

‘She's all right. Dresses a bit boring, but she's not a real minger.'

‘So he'll wanna wait till after his big night before he blows himself up then?' says Jed. ‘When's the wedding?'

‘Beginning of August,' says Priti.

‘That's only a couple of weeks away,' I say.

‘So we'd better keep an eye on him then,' says Jed.

When we go back over to Granny's for lunch, I find another card from Gary. This one has a picture of a potato decorated to look like Darth Vader and on the back it says,
The force connects all living things – even me and you. Feel the force, Ben!
It sounds like the sort of thing my mum would say which makes me feel really sad. And it's also a bit like Gary's pretending to be my dad (cos everyone knows Darth Vader is actually Luke's father) which is a bit weird too. Jed asks me to show it to him, but Granny says I don't have to talk about it if I don't want to. So I don't.

After lunch, Jed and Grandad clear off pretty
quickly, so it's just me and Granny left to clear up as usual.

‘Granny,' I say as she leans over me to pick up the salt and pepper pots. ‘Have you heard from my mum?'

She stops what she's doing, so she's standing there, holding the two little ceramic pots shaped like chickens, and it's like she hasn't heard me because she doesn't answer for ages. I'm about to ask her again when she says simply, ‘No, not yet, dear.' And then it's as if she suddenly remembers what she was doing and busies herself again tidying away.

‘It's worse than before, isn't it?' I ask.

‘A bit.' Granny turns to the cupboards and stops again, like she can't remember which one the salt and pepper go in.

‘Is she going to die?' I ask, keeping my voice very quiet. I'm staring at the painted feathers on the chickens, tracing the patterns of colour with my eyes.

‘No, dear.' She turns round quickly to face me. ‘No, of course not. They won't let her.' She looks really upset.

‘Sorry, Granny,' I say.

‘
You've
nothing to be sorry for,' she says. Then she sits down next to me again and puts her hand on mine. ‘Now go ahead, ask me whatever you like,' she says, trying to look cheery again.

But I just say, ‘No, it's OK, thank you.' And then, ‘I know she'll be better soon anyway, so I'm not worried about her.' And I smile and look at the chicken pots and try to imagine them as real chickens, only I can't.

And Granny just smiles and pats my hand. And that's the end of the conversation.

It's Zara's turn to keep an eye on Priti this afternoon, but she tries to palm it off on Shakeel.

‘Give me a break, Shakeel! I'm supposed to be meeting some friends.'

‘I have things to do too, little sister.'

‘Like what?'

‘Making an improvised explosive!' Jed whispers in my ear.

‘All you do is study and sit and fiddle with your radios. It's no skin off your nose to keep an eye on the rug rats.'

‘I have people to meet,' he replies.

‘What people?'

‘That's no concern of yours.'

Jed mutters the words ‘terror cell'.

‘Come on, Shakeel, do me a favour,' says Zara, who is wearing a dress and smells of perfume.

‘I'm sorry, Zara. I have to go to the library. I'll try and get back early so you can see your friends.' He turns to us and says, ‘Try and entertain yourselves and don't get under Zara's feet – OK?'

But Zara is still angry with him and slams the door behind him as he leaves. ‘Don't think I'm looking after your kids when you start sprogging with Professor Ameenah!' she shouts after him.

As soon as Shakeel is safely out of earshot, Jed says, ‘Why don't you let me look after these kids while you go and shag your boyfriend?'

Zara turns round quickly and glares at him.

‘Who told you I had a boyfriend, shrimp?' The ‘shrimp' doesn't quite work because, without her heels on, Jed is nearly as tall as she is.

‘I have my sources!' says Jed with a swagger. ‘My
sources also tell me you could do a lot better. Have you ever considered going for a younger man?'

Zara makes a funny gesture with her head and laughs. ‘Oh, I didn't realise you meant you. The word “man” must have confused me. I don't go for boys. Sorry!' She laughs again.

‘You will be,' says Jed, sounding a bit like his dad. ‘What do you see in that loser anyway?'

‘Um, let me see!' she puts a finger to her lips. ‘He's fit. He's funny . . . His balls have actually dropped.'

‘I think you'll find everything in order in that department!' says Jed. ‘But if you'd like to check . . .' He reaches for the belt of his jeans.

‘Like I wanna go grubbing around in your skiddy little pants!' she says. ‘How old are you anyway, kid?'

‘Fourteen,' Jed lies.

‘That figures.' She laughs. ‘Now out of my way, kiddo!'

Jed steps to one side with a little bow and Zara looks like she's going to walk on past him, but then she comes right close to his face and says, ‘And if you tell anyone I've got a boyfriend . . .'

‘You'll what?' says Jed.

Zara pulls herself up straight, sticks her boobs out and I can see her looking at him, wondering what to say next. ‘Are you trying to blackmail me, kid?'

Jed shrugs.

‘Oh, what the hell, if it'll shut you up!' Then she grabs his head, presses her mouth to his and moves her lips around for about half a minute.

Priti lets out a giggle. I just stare.

When Zara finally pulls away, Jed's face is doing a good impression of my beetroot red, and for the first time since I've known him, he's lost for words.

Zara quickly rubs her sleeve over her lips and says, ‘Right, well, if you ever want that to happen again, you keep quiet, you hear?'

Jed just nods and she turns away.

Priti bursts out laughing. ‘Like that's gonna keep him quiet.'

But Jed doesn't say anything and neither do I.

After Zara has disappeared into the bedroom she shares with Priti, we sneak upstairs to check out
Shakeel's room for hidden explosives or detonator devices. It feels like we're playing bomb squad, but Jed says it's not a game because Shakeel is a potential terror suspect so this is totally for real. And I don't bother to argue because he and Priti actually seem to agree on something for once.

The door to Zara and Priti's room is ajar and we can hear Zara on the phone to Tyreese as we crawl past, commando style. (Why don't soldiers use their knees to crawl on? Is it because they've been shot off – as Jed says – or in case they get a bullet in the bum – Priti's suggestion?)

Glancing in as I crawl by, I can see that the girls' room is a tip. The beds are unmade, the curtains are still shut giving the room a purple glow and there are clothes strewn everywhere. They've got loads of posters on the wall: goth bands and film stars who look like vampires (Zara's, I guess), girl bands and pretty-boy popstars (must be Priti's) and there's make-up and underwear scattered all over the floor.

Zara is on her bed, lying back on some pink furry cushions. Above her hangs a pink and black gauzy
thing like a mosquito net. She looks like some sort of gothic princess as she whispers into her mobile. I imagine evil-looking black fairies fluttering in the air around her.

‘Will you two stop ogling my sister so we can get on with spying on my brother!' whispers Priti impatiently.

Jed and I both snap to attention.

Shakeel's room is at the end of the corridor and the door is closed but not locked. I imagine a skull and crossbones sign and the caption,
Beware all who enter here!

‘Mum won't let us have locks on our bedrooms,' Priti whispers. ‘Says she'd rather see the nonsense we get up to.'

Jed and I stand guard while Priti opens the door. Jed is holding two fingers up to his chest, like a pretend revolver. Priti gently eases down the door handle and we all pile into Shakeel's bedroom.

The room is really neat, not like his sisters' at all. There's not much space to move though because a large double bed touches the wall on both sides and there are bookshelves built up all round it
which make me wonder how it feels to sleep there. I imagine an avalanche of books burying Shakeel alive while he sleeps.

‘After they get married, Ameenah's gonna come and live with us. Just till they get a place of their own,' Priti whispers. ‘That's why he gets to have a double bed!'