Attica (30 page)

She burst into tears and turned away from him.

‘I really am sorry, Clo. I’ll help with the hang-glider. And I’ll find Mr Grantham’s watch. I’ve looked on the chart. The watches are on the other side of the lake. I’m going to sail over there and get it and I’ll bring it to the trapdoor to our – to your house. You can take it to Mr Grantham.’

Her shoulders stopped shuddering. She stood there for a few seconds without replying, then she turned. ‘You will?’

‘Yes, I will, honest.’

‘All right. Perhaps you’ll have changed your mind by then. It’s a lonely life, being a bortrekker, I’m sure. You
could
change your mind.’

‘It’s
possible,’ said Alex, but he had seen the crafty look in his sister’s eyes and knew her plan. She was, he was certain, going to try to kidnap him as he handed over the watch. She would be there with Ben and Jordy, and maybe his mother, and they would first try to persuade him to come home, then – if he refused – they would grab him and bundle him down the attic steps and hold him until he promised never to go up into the attic again. Oh, he knew his sister all right, but he played along with her. ‘It’s quite possible. As you say, it’s a lonely existence. I might change my mind.’

‘Good. Help with this then.’ She bent down and began ripping open the cover to the hang-glider, her sharp nails put to use on plastic instead of her brother. ‘Let’s see how we put it together.’

Jordy sat back, instructing them.

The hang-glider was not of a type he was thoroughly familiar with, but he had at least seen the design before. It was not one of the new paragliders, but one of the older gliders with an aluminium-tube frame over which was stretched the fabric, forming a sort of triangle shape with points on the trailing edge. They made a few mistakes, but there was an instruction book, and with Alex’s engineering skills and Jordy’s actual knowledge, they managed to put it all together in two hours. The harness was a little tricky but they worked that out in the end. Finally it was ready. They strapped Chloe in, adjusting the buckles until she looked right.

‘You look like Batman,’ said Jordy, grinning. ‘Very swish.’

‘Do you think I should try a solo flight first?’ she asked her step-brother. ‘Just to get used to it?’

‘Not a chance. You heard what the bortrekker said. The warm air draughts go one way. You haven’t got the skill to manoeuvre the glider, even if you manage to stay up there. You’ll get carried away and crash into rafters or something. I need to be with you.’ He looked up. ‘We’ve got to get on one of those layers of draught up there, follow the high parts of the attic so that we don’t hit any beams or projections from the roof. In most places you can’t even see the roof, but it does come down low in others. No, Clo, no practice runs. When we take off, we do it for real.’

‘Where from?’

‘From
the top edge of the water tank. I felt the water when we were up there. It was quite warm. There’ll be a thermal above it we can use to gain height. We’ll have to take off over the water, gain some height, turn when we can, then head back for the boards.’

Chloe looked at him with admiration.

‘You know your stuff, mister, don’t you?’

Jordy suddenly went uncharacteristically shy. ‘Oh, I don’t know.’

‘Yes you do, doesn’t he, Alex?’

‘My bruv?’ He slapped Jordy on the back. ‘He’s brute.’

‘Hey, watch the arm,’ cried Jordy, wincing.

Chloe then turned her attention to Alex.

‘What about you? How are you going to cross the tank?’

‘I thought I’d make a raft. There are plenty of packing cases – things like that – about.’

‘Shall we help you?’

‘No, no need, sis. The bortrekker’s coming back to give me a hand. Thanks anyway.’

‘Oh,’ she said, her looks turning dark again, ‘the
bortrekker
.’

‘I know you don’t like him now, but it’s not his fault I’m staying, you know. It’s mine. I would’ve done anyway. I might have been a board-comber. That’s what they call the collectors up here. Board-combers. You’d have liked me even less then, wouldn’t you? All wrapped up in stinky clothes and looking like a walking rag-bag.’

‘Like you?’ her
face crumpled a little, her large dark eyes moistening. ‘Alex, I
love
you. You’re my little brother. I love you so much it hurts.’

‘Oh.’ He felt a knife going into his heart. What did she have to say that for? Girls were so soft. ‘Well – you know.’

To cap it all, Nelson limped forward on his three legs and looked up into Alex’s face. Nelson’s expression was one of puzzlement and just a little contempt. Did he understand? Alex was a little aggrieved at his cat’s attitude. If anyone should understand about the right to roam at will, Nelson should. After all, cats were the worst. They wandered where they liked, took no heed of relationships that did not provide food, and generally walked alone with not a care for anyone or anything. It wasn’t fair of Nelson to judge him, when Nelson himself was a worse offender.

‘You can look,’ muttered Alex. ‘You’re just as bad.’

Jordy was by now feeling exhausted. He fell off to sleep without a by-your-leave. Chloe, after all the stress of the day, did the same very soon afterwards. Alex looked down at the sleeping bodies and became very emotional. He was now planning to leave his brother and sister for good. That meant leaving his mother and Ben too. His mother he loved, of course, and he’d grown rather fond of Ben over the last year. Ben didn’t try to push the father bit with him, but was still firm when he felt Alex needed it. Alex had a lot of respect for his mother’s new husband, though of course he kicked against Ben’s authority sometimes.

‘Well, Makishi,’ he said, ‘it’s just you and me now.’

‘You are keeping me, Alex? A bortrekker has no mask, unlike a board-comber.’

‘Oh, I wouldn’t abandon you, you ugly old circumciser.’

‘Thank you. You are most kind. And thank you for the compliment. I flatter myself I have always been fairly ugly.’

‘You’re
extremely
ugly.’

‘Nice
of you to say so.’

Next, Alex patted Nelson on the head. Nelson gave him a different look from the one a short while ago. Alex sighed. Leaving was a difficult thing to do when it came down to it. Alex hadn’t thought it would be. He had seen himself walking away without even a slight feeling of regret. However, he was determined to follow his star. If he went home with the other two he would never get back. He knew that. He had to do his own thing.

So he went, without looking back.

When Chloe woke she shook Jordy.

‘Come on. We have to get you home.’

Jordy’s bleary eyes opened. ‘Eh? Oh, yes.’

He sat up and rubbed his face vigorously with his free hand.

‘Damn, it does ache a bit, Clo. It’s hurting like mad now.’

‘Well, it will, until you get it set properly. That splint’s only to stop you jolting it. Now, how do we get the hang-glider up to the lip of the water tank? I need both hands to climb the steps.’

‘A thick cord. We’ll haul it up. Or rather you will. You go up there. Where’s Alex? He could help us.’

‘Gone,’ said Chloe simply, climbing the steps. She had turned from Jordy quickly to hide the tears from him. ‘We can’t bother with him now. It’s important to get you home.’

Once she was on the top edge of the water tank Jordy threw up a partially unravelled baton of cord. She caught the baton on the second throw. Jordy tied the end to the nose of the hang-glider which was pretty clever since he only had that one hand. But he managed it.

Chloe then hauled the hang-glider up the side of the tank, finding it surprisingly heavy as a dead weight. Once she’d grasped it, Jordy came up the ladder himself, agilely letting go of one rung to catch the next one up, without any danger of falling whatsoever. He was indeed a very good gymnast and athlete. What was more, he had the three-legged Nelson on one shoulder. The ginger cat was looking rather apprehensively at the drop below them, gripping Jordy with his sharp claws.

‘Ow, Nelson! Pack it in.’

However, when
Nelson saw the water, he gripped even harder and Jordy had to peel his claws off, one by one. Then Jordy made a kind of hammock out of his jacket, tucking the bottom into the top of his trousers, and put the ginger tom in there. Nelson obviously felt warm and much safer inside his cloth cave and promptly went to sleep.

Now Jordy was up and alongside Chloe, he sat on the twelve-centimetre-wide board which rimmed the lip of the tank. He gripped the hang-glider and told Chloe to stand up and then take it from him.

It took quite a time before they were ready. Jordy had shown her how to strap herself into the harness. Then she fitted his harness to him. Finally, they stood one behind the other on the narrow ledge with the hang-glider on Chloe’s back. Jordy was in front facing away from the water. Chloe was behind him, also facing away from the tank. When they took off, she would be attached to the glider, face down, and Jordy would be below her, also face down. Everything was set. It just needed a little bolstering of courage, which was not an easy thing to do with such a drop.

‘There’s about ten metres to play with,’ said Jordy, looking down at the boards below, ‘so it’s got to be a good launch.’

At that moment there appeared a group of those who had attacked them earlier but who had been routed by Nelson.

They swarmed
over a pile of boxes and headed for the ladder up the side of the tank. The Removal Firm had arrived dressed in thick protective clothing: overcoats, gardening gloves, shin pads. No savage cat was going to stop them now, no matter how many teeth and claws it had. They were set on capturing the incomers before the disaster occurred. Their grey wrinkled faces were intent. They moved with great purpose in their steps.

‘Take no notice of them,’ ordered Jordy, sucking in his breath as he looked down on the dust-coated Atticans. ‘In a few moments we’ll leave them behind. Are you ready? Steady yourself. We’ve got plenty of time. They’ve only just started climbing the ladder.’

‘I’m ready,’ cried Chloe, her knees shaking. ‘I really am.’

‘Let’s do it then!’ cried Jordy.

But Chloe still made no move to push off.

The first of the Removal Firm arrived at the top of the ladder and gripped Jordy’s ankle with strong fingers. Jordy calmly kicked away the creature’s forearm, knocking it off balance. It fell from the top of the ladder with curses on its horrible lips. On its way down it crashed into others climbing up behind it and took them with it down to the boards. There was a terrible commotion among the Removal Firm as they were knocked and scattered over the boards. A screeching went up which would have penetrated Chloe’s head, had she not been desperately trying to screw up enough courage to take off from the tank.

‘All right,’ she whispered in Jordy’s ear. ‘I’m really ready this time.’

Finally the pair kicked off almost in unison and swooped out into the space above the boards. The jolt on take-off caused Jordy to yell in pain, but he quickly assured Chloe he was all right. Chloe, in fact, was too terrified to take much notice of Jordy’s discomfort.

‘What do
I do?’ she cried, as she saw those below her craning their necks, their eyes wide.

‘First of all, don’t panic. Don’t make any sudden moves. If you get into trouble, just straighten the glider out. There’s nothing to hit around here. No electric pylon wires or branches of trees.’

And he was right. Above and around them was just the broad expanse of dusty air between the boards and the roofing felt. The several square suns of the attic shone down on this strange new giant bat, whose dark shadow flowed over the boards and objects below. ‘Do everything calmly, easily, gently. Now turn back towards the tank.’

‘How? How?’

‘Just as we talked about. You’re still panicking. Calm down. That’s it. Now dip your left wing – no, gently, gently – that’s it – turn back over the water – turn, gradually, don’t dip too steeply, up, up a fraction more, pretty good, Clo, pretty good – you’re a natural …’

The grim faces of the Removal Firm were staring up at them as the shadow of the glider rippled over their ranks.

Whether Jordy had meant that last statement or not it gave her the courage she needed. Once she was above the water the hang-glider began to lift on the warmer air. She kept it straight for a while, climbing every minute, until Jordy reminded her that she needed to spiral, because they were going the wrong way. He told her how to manipulate the glider, talking her through it gently all the while. Soon she was doing what was necessary, turning in circles, like an eagle climbing up the face of the sky. It felt good. It felt exhilarating. The fresh draught rippled the fabric of the hang-glider, cooled her face. She knew she was doing well.

Then suddenly she looked down and saw a vessel voyaging out on the surface of the lake. There was one occupant aboard and he looked up, startled when the shadow crossed his craft. It was Alex, sailing swiftly towards the far horizons of the water tank. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then he lifted his arm and waved to the flying couple.

Chloe
almost lost it there and then. She pulled down too hard and nearly took the glider into the water. It swept so close to the surface a wave clipped Jordy’s face and spray covered his jacket. Nelson looked out, alarmed, made a mewing sound, and retreated down into the depths of the jacket again. Somehow Chloe managed to pull up at the last minute, saving the three of them from a cold wet fate. When she looked again, Alex had sailed into the heaving swell, his raft no longer visible.

‘Oh my God!’

‘No, I’m not your god, I’m just your hang-gliding instructor, which is pretty much like a miracle, however, since I’ve only flown a few times myself – but there you go. Or rather here
we
go. Now, turn out over the attic floor. Easy, easy. Brilliant turn! We’re on our way home. I’ve got the map here …’ He reached inside his jacket and found the map, folded to a manageable size, so that he could follow the route he had chosen. It was warm from having Nelson’s furry body next to it. ‘We obviously need to steer clear of low rafters,’ he called up to her.