Chasing The Dawn (Luke Temple - Book 2) (Luke Temple Series) (17 page)

Hearing Chung Su say the words hit home to Luke that this was no longer an ordinary reconnaissance mission, everything had changed. The violence at the Observatory would be a mere taster. If such a discovery meant something so epic, it could alter the landscape of human existence, and all he could picture was destruction.

“I think you overestimate the human race’s desire to bring freedom,” Luke continued. “You say none of you were prepared for what Brun had to present, was there anyone else who knew the work they were doing?”

Chung Su tried to give no sign of her nervousness. “No.”

The answer was too quick. Luke asked again, “Who else knew, Chung Su?.” He stared directly into her eyes.

She felt the sweat gathering under her arms. “I … I don’t see how anyone could know, it was such a surprise. We don’t even know what they have really done, you heard Brun, he was not clear”

“Claiming they have a result was a surprise, which does not mean what they were trying to achieve was a secret.”

Chung Su’s hands stroked her hair. “I don’t know if anyone knew.” The thought had only really just occurred to her, the confusion had numbed her brain
. We were meant to know what they were doing … why did we not get the feedback?

Luke slotted chunks of information together, a jigsaw from his time in Teramo. The pieces were loose and hazy but he was trained to keep trying permutations and then trying again when they didn’t fit.

“Here is what I think, the work that Professor Vittorio was carrying out with Brun is the reason he is missing. The discovery of the speed of the neutrino and now this other claimed discovery has taken the world by surprise, which doesn’t mean that nobody knew of the work they were carrying out. It’s quite clear these findings are extremely important to the scientific community and the world as a whole. Important enough to kill for … which begs the question, why would someone want to kill someone who doesn’t know anything about it? Seems odd, don’t you think?” His eyes bored into her.

“I … but I don’t know anything.” She felt the weakness in her voice; flashes of her grandfather, her family, her institute reeled around inside.

Luke was feeding Chung Su; he wanted to put pressure on her. He didn’t need her to crack straight away. She was not telling him the full story but he sensed it would come. He knew there were gaps in his theory
. Why isn’t Brun dead as well?

“We leave at 7.30 p.m., I suggest you get some more rest.” Luke didn’t know where to start, but he knew the first priority was to make sure they were safe. Then he would have to start trying to piece everything together.

With that, Luke exited the room, leaving Chung Su alone. The urge to cry was strong but she refused, studying the secrets of the universe for her entire life had always brought with it a sense of how small she was in the grand plan of things, but sat in a stranger’s house, thousands of miles from home, the violence of the past twenty-four hours and the aching in her bones made Chung Su feel more insignificant than ever.

The liquid caught easily, a roar of air and flame surged outwards, the heat was instant. Luke stared at the orange flicker, a bright light in the darkness. Chung Su stood a few paces behind, flames lighting her pale skin as she watched their clothes burn. She had no feelings about the beautiful dress going up in flames, she did not care, but the symbolism of it did not elude her.

The old man had left the porridge as he said he would, but had not said goodbye. He stayed in his front room and they had let themselves out. Luke took him as a man of his word; he could have killed him but it was unnecessary, even if he did talk it wouldn’t change the situation. Perhaps the only important detail he could have given was the lack of familiarity between Luke and Chung Su.

Luke had asked to have some of the elderly man’s clothes, and was now dressed in a thick black jumper with a flannel checked shirt and a thermal vest underneath, all of which were too big for him. For trousers he had a rugged old pair of brown corduroys with a drawstring tie. His Sig Sauer was tucked in its familiar waistband position, and he had also taken a thick-soled pair of walking boots.

Chung Su looked just as ridiculous, she had on three t-shirts stuffed under a brown turtleneck jumper. For trousers she had opted for plain black. They almost looked like old suit trousers, but they were the closest fitting. On her feet she had also taken an old pair of boots. They were too big for her but after the previous night she cared only that they were warm, and the three pairs of socks helped.

Luke knew they would not blend in very well once in Teramo but he had to play with what he had been dealt, his primary concern was making sure they both survived the night. He had been relieved when the old man offered up two pairs of gloves and a woolly hat. Luke had given Chung Su the hat and told her to tuck her hair into the turtleneck; it would help trap warmth around her neck. Luke held two red petrol canisters, he had spotted them in the man’s garden and asked if he could take them with some matches. The old man didn’t question it, he just handed them over.

Luke tossed the canister in his left hand onto the fire, it was empty. The other canister would be taken with them, it was crucial to the next step in the strategy. Luke checked his watch; it was 7.26 p.m. He had remained awake for the past few hours going over available information. It had not really helped. The one face he couldn’t get out of his head was that of the older Carabinieri …
why did he not shoot at me?

Luke turned his face away from the fire, and the lights of Teramo blurred in the haze, a mirage in the darkness. They were south of the town but Luke had decided to enter it from the north; it was the furthest point from the Observatory, and he assumed the most intense form of activity would be focused on the southern edge, with authorities fanning out into the surrounding countryside.

Without saying a word, Luke started off across the solid ground. Chung Su followed reluctantly behind. He reckoned they would reach an entry point within a couple of hours, three max if Chung Su was still feeling sore.

“Where are we going?” she whispered against the wind.

“Teramo,” Luke said over his shoulder.

The idea of heading back into the town filled her with fear; she wanted to run as far away as possible. Chung Su’s limbs felt like lead, she was physically exhausted, the porridge had been welcome but she needed more rest. Still, she was proud that she hadn’t divulged what her country had asked of her. The man striding ahead had asked her to call him Robert. Her hope soared for a moment.
Maybe he knows what has become of my countrymen?

A specific image of her office within her own laboratory flashed into her mind, the Newton’s cradle she had on a sideboard next to her desk, her tatty old swivel chair, the window overlooking the courtyard where she would sometimes pass hours lost in her own thoughts and theories. She shivered as the wind attacked again from all angles. Brun’s speech at the Gala kept pricking at her mind, wrenching at her stomach. It was a selfish response, she could not believe what he was claiming he and Vittorio had achieved. She had always been of the belief that they were so close to putting her homeland where it belonged on the world stage.
How did we not know?

Pulling her hat down so that it covered her neck and as much of her forehead and face as possible she moved unsteadily behind her mystery stranger, heading into the unknown.

“Robert, will it take long?” she asked in vain.

But Luke didn’t answer, in silence he led them across the alien terrain.

“Oh for heaven’s sake Roland, will you look alive? You have been sat in that chair since this morning, barely even moving. It won’t do you any good at all; it certainly won’t help the situation.” Brun did not acknowledge his wife; he just continued to stare out the window, watching the Teramo lights twinkle below. Giving up, she stormed out.

What have I done?
The question was now a mantra. He had sat in the old chair in the living room all day asking it over and over, and still he had no answer. The Observatory seemed like a blur, faces and noise were all he could remember … and gunshots. He shuddered at the whole event. Had he made a major mistake? There was no conscious process to what he had done, it had just happened, a rare time in his life that his heart had taken over his mind.
Vittorio must understand … must see why it had to come out.

A lump caught in his throat at the thought of Professor Vittorio.
What have I done?

Brun stood and walked over to the large bay window, leaning on the window ledge. Only now had he started deciphering the heavy feeling that had clouded his days for the past few years, a feeling that had been ever-present, lurking in the shadows. He had always put it down to late nights and stress, the passion of the work driving him on. But with the unravelling of a dream came clarity. It had never been stress, it had been the comprehension that what he was doing was wrong,
but I was working for the greater good, it was a revelation for the whole of mankind
.

He let out a deep sigh, and his breath wobbled with emotion. The police had caught up with him that morning at home. They were particularly keen to know who a mystery man called Robert Reid was; Brun clenched his jaw and closed his eyes.
Poor Miss Chung.
The man had taken her, the man who had sat in his workshop and threatened him with a gun. The day he had spent with her had been a most enjoyable time; she had allowed him to forget all the stress, all the pain and lose himself in his first love, science. He had told the police nothing about Robert Reid’s visit, he could not. He felt like a drowning man suddenly confronted with his own death who realises all the mistakes he has made but no longer has the power to rectify them.

This is a force of motion that cannot be stopped.

Triore, I love you so much, why can we not be together? You promised me, you swore that when the time was right we would run away from all of this.

Isabella, please, you know I cannot just leave her. We are married, it is a difficult position I am in, I thought you understood that?

I do, I do understand, but you keep promising, and every time you break that promise you break my heart with it.

Oh Isabella, you know I love you, you know …

The radio went dead
. What a load of crap,
thought Officer Palemero. The aged Teramo officer’s thoughts drifted to the storm awaiting him when he got home the following morning. He and his wife had been due at her family’s house that evening for a ninetieth birthday celebration until he had received a call demanding all officers get into the station. It all revolved around the shooting up at the Collurania Observatory, a bunch of scientists had been gathered for something or other and now one of the females had been kidnapped. It was the most action the town had seen in decades.

And then there was this jumped-up bearded Carabinieri, demanding the bulk of all local officers set up cordons and roadblocks along the southern point of Teramo, along with a handful of lone patrol officers to spread along the northern tip of the town, as insurance.

Looking out the window he knew he had drawn the short straw, positioned alone facing the mountain range, nothing to look at but countryside, black countryside
. Why do I still do this job?

As he leaned back in his seat he wriggled with discomfort, reaching down to his pistol,
stupid thing
. He had not gone on patrol with a pistol for more than twenty years, but again the Carabinieri had insisted to all patrols that they carry their weapons. Palemero unbuttoned the holster and placed the pistol on the dashboard. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes.
I think next year it’s time for me to buy my dream farm …

He never saw the two dark shadows that flittered across the far hedgerow, moving rapidly to within fifty metres of the car.

***

They both stumbled to a stop, panting hard. The moonlight had broken through a gap in the cloud lighting the dramatic features of the mountain range. Glancing back in the direction they had just covered Luke saw no movement.

Luke had initially led Chung Su far out east away from Teramo, then judging they were far enough away from civilisation he arced their progress to bring them in a wide semi-circle back into touching distance of the town on the northern tip, using the town lights as guidance. The pair had barely exchanged a word.

Luke was impressed with Chung Su’s stamina. He knew she would be aching and hurting but she kept pace well and apart from the odd high-pitched grunt she did not complain. He slowed their pace and stopped every 200 metres to scan the environment, listening for any out of place sounds or watching for any sharp, straight edges …
nature does not do straight lines.
They had encountered nothing. Chung Su had asked for brief rests as they honed in on the glow of the town. They had done well on time and Luke was happy for her to sit and gather her thoughts. She had used the petrol canister as a seat.

As they had moved across an open expanse of land Luke’s eyes had caught the shine of a vehicle parked on a hedge-lined road below. The police colouring and plastic light casing were easily visible. Luke sat for a moment and then disappeared into the dark, demanding Chung Su stay put.

Keeping tight in to the hedge, Luke moved steadily along the field, keeping low and crossing his feet slowly, allowing his body to indicate if it was not safe to put his full weight down. He could not see the police car from where he was, which he hoped meant that the occupants could not see him.

As he got to about twenty metres away he lay down on the ground and began crawling, still tucked into the hedge. In the dark there was no way any passengers could see him through the tangled hedge, but he needed a clear view of the occupants.

Letting his legs do most of the work Luke lay on his back and slid under the hedge, the ground scraping his back. Emerging onto the road, his senses came alive, he was now exposed. The vehicle was still and quiet. Luke rolled onto his front and jumped into a squat position, his gun by his side. He could now see clearly through the rear windscreen, he saw no silhouette on the passenger side, but also none on the driver’s side.
It may be empty. But then where are they?