The Firebird Mystery (18 page)

Absolute silence filled the room.

Major Evans jutted his jaw. ‘That's preposterous.'

Winston Churchill interrupted. ‘And you're saying the Nazis now have control of this weapon?'

‘Two bombs,' Mr Harker confirmed. ‘They can be detonated in a number of ways. A timed explosion. Or released from a great height.'

‘General.' Major Evans turned to Churchill. ‘Surely you can't believe in this claptrap about a doomsday bomb?'

‘We can't afford not to.' Churchill shook his head like a dog shaking a bone. ‘After seeing the weaponry assembled within this compound, and the metal giant lying on the ice outside, we need to prepare for the worst.'

‘But we don't know where these bombs are located,' the major pointed out.

‘As a matter of fact,' Joseph Bell said, ‘we do.'

Everyone turned to him.

‘Tracking devices are attached to the weapons.'

‘Tracking devices?' Scarlet repeated.

‘They are electrical mechanisms that send messages through the air.'

‘Incredible,' Lucy said.

‘We have been able to verify their location,' Mr Harker said. ‘The bombs are on the Berlin Metrotower.'

‘But surely the German government can't support this?'

‘Much has changed in the last twenty-four hours,' General Churchill interrupted. ‘A coup was staged in the German parliament, resulting in the deaths of the Chancellor and most of the party leaders. The Nazis are now in command.'

‘And their leader is this man, Drexler?' Mr Doyle asked.

‘Indeed. Anton Drexler, along with his protégé, Adolf Hitler, is now running the show.' The general lit a cigar and started puffing on it furiously. He strode over to a map of Europe on the wall and examined it before turning to the others. ‘We stand on the verge of disaster,' he said. ‘To halt this terrible calamity we must take up arms against the Nazis before they can use these atrocious weapons, these atomic bombs.' He turned to Joseph Bell. ‘Can you disarm the devices?'

‘Paul and I can disarm them,' Mr Bell confirmed.

‘Then we'll need both of you,' Churchill said.

‘And us,' Scarlet interrupted.

‘Yes,' Jack said. ‘Count me in.'

‘And myself,' Mr Doyle said.

‘Where my father goes,' Lucy said, ‘I go.'

‘My friends,' Winston Churchill said. ‘This is not the place for young ladies or boys or...' He glanced at Mr Doyle. ‘...even famous detectives.'

Scarlet stood, throwing back her flowing red hair. ‘If it weren't for Lucy and myself and Jack and Mr Doyle, none of us would be here. And no-one would be any the wiser as to the terrible crisis we are now facing. We are a team and we will remain a team. England is in danger and it is the responsibility of every man, woman and child to defend our country with every fibre of our beings.'

Jack thought she had never looked so beautiful.

‘I cannot argue with your patriotism,' General Churchill said. ‘Our next stop will be the Paris metrotower. The French have given us permission to use their facilities during this crisis. You may travel with us that far, but I cannot allow you to go any further. That would be endangering your lives for nought.'

‘As you wish,' Scarlet said. ‘Paris it is.'

CHAPTER TWENTY

The airship swayed as it came into dock at the metrotower. Jack could see little difference between the Paris tower and its London counterpart: the windows were smaller, and bronze gargoyles decorated some of the crossbeams on the exterior, but otherwise the towers were almost identical.

The airship landed at a docking point high up the tower. Standing next to Scarlet on the observation deck, Jack felt both trepidation and a sense of disappointment. It seemed their adventure was coming to an end. Mr Bell and Mr Harker had gone ahead to make plans, leaving the rest of them behind.

There was a small jolt and Scarlet balanced herself against the rail. ‘It seems we have arrived,' she said.

‘Seems like it,' Jack said.

Scarlet turned to him. ‘Jack, there's something I need to tell you.'

‘What's that?' Jack asked, suddenly nervous.

‘I hope you don't think it too forward of me, but I think you're one of the bravest young men I've ever known,' she said. ‘I saw the way you saved Mr Doyle. He would have died out there on the snow without you. He is a great detective, but he's not invincible. He still needs someone to look after him.'

‘You make me sound like a nurse,' Jack said, proud and embarrassed at once.

‘Well, if you are, you're the best around,' Scarlet said. ‘I don't think he has any family, does he?'

‘His son was killed in the war.'

‘I suppose you're like a son to him now.'

‘I wouldn't go that far.'

‘I believe I would,' Scarlet said.

A bell sounded. ‘Time to disembark,' Scarlet said. ‘From here there's only one direction.'

He raised an eyebrow.

‘Up,' she explained.

They joined Mr Doyle, Lucy, General Churchill and Major Evans in the departure lounge. With the general in the lead, they wound their way through the structure to the elevators. Jack gazed about in wonder. Everywhere he peered, he saw French words. Along every corridor he heard people speaking in the strange French tongue. Jack had travelled to France with the circus when he was very young, but remembered little of the country or its people.

Mr Doyle stopped to buy a variety of cheeses and filled his pockets. He turned to the others with slight embarrassment.

‘My apologies,' he said. ‘Nobody makes cheese like the French.'

They passed small groups of French troops. They were all kitted out with guns, bayonets and grenades. Many of the men were smoking. Occasionally Jack heard them break into strained laughter.

‘They're ready for an invasion,' Jack said.

‘They are,' Mr Doyle said. ‘French and British troops are gathering at the border. Mr Bell and Mr Harker will be boarding the French ship, the
Jeanne d'Arc
, with a huge complement of military men and making their way to the Berlin Metrotower.'

‘So they're attacking the tower?' Lucy said.

‘They are giving the Nazis an ultimatum. Either they hand over the atomic weapons or it's war.'

Lucy's bottom lip quivered. ‘Let's hope it doesn't come to that.'

‘I hope not.'

They wound their way past elevator shafts until they arrived at a tube close to the tower's core. General Churchill led them inside. A railing ran about the circumference of the chamber. The general took a position next to Jack and gripped it.

‘We must all hang onto the railings during the ascent,' Churchill warned. ‘It can be a bumpy ride.'

The door closed. Jack heard a distant clanking sound and the elevator shuddered. It started to rise.

‘We now climb several miles,' General Churchill said to Jack. ‘It's quite a distance.'

‘Have you been up this tower before, sir?'

‘A few times,' the general replied. ‘I was invited here when the tower was first built after the war.' He leaned closer to Jack. ‘I understand you've had quite a few adventures with Mr Doyle.'

‘A few,' he admitted.

‘We need men like you in the Army,' the general said. ‘Young, strong, fit chaps with brave hearts.'

‘I'll keep it in mind,' Jack said, diplomatically.

The journey seemed to take forever. After a while Jack closed his eyes, concentrating on the continual rattle as they rose higher and higher.

He wondered how far up they were now. Many miles, he imagined. Not that he was worried. He had lost his fear of heights as a young child. His parents taught him not to be afraid of falling. Only then could they teach him to soar and fly through the air. He hoped they would not fall from here. It was a long way down.

The elevator jarred. Jack snapped open his eyes. Major Evans glanced up at an indicator above the door.

‘We're almost there,' he announced. ‘Just another minute or two.'

Jack stifled a yawn. Had he been asleep? He focused on Mr Doyle. The great detective looked tired as well. The last few days would have been exhausting for anyone—let alone an older man like Mr Doyle. He really did well for his age.

The elevator jolted to a halt. They exchanged glances before the door eased open with a puff of steam.

‘We have arrived,' General Churchill announced.

They stepped into an open area with tables and chairs. Some people were sitting around drinking tea. A maid carried a tray over to them. Windows revealed the earth beneath them. The structure arced away, disappearing into cloud miles below. Entire continents and oceans spanned the surface of the globe like an enormous map. The space beyond was the deepest night Jack had ever seen. He wanted to stay and look out, but the general urged them onwards.

‘Must keep moving,' he said gruffly.

They walked into a crowded passage. People were everywhere. A group of nurses strode past with determined expressions on their faces. Soldiers stood about in groups, smoking and chatting. A woman handed out food and refreshments.

‘The steamers are still boarding,' Major Evans explained. ‘There's quite a backlog.'

‘How many ships are there?' Jack asked.

‘Three French and four British ships,' he said. ‘The Nazis will have to listen to reason, else they'll have an invasion on their hands.'

Jack swallowed. They made their way to an enormous waiting area, which reminded him of the departure lounge for a sea-going vessel. It was filled with hundreds of people. Some of them studied their watches. Others sipped drink from tightly held flasks. There was a tense mood in the air.

As they drew closer to the windows, Jack saw a steamer outside. Hundreds of feet in length, the vessel looked like a sea-faring battleship with the top lopped away. The bridge was a slim shoebox-shaped structure in the middle of the main deck. The iron hull was riveted together with thousands of bronze-coloured studs.

A dozen barrel-shaped propulsion nozzles, pointing towards the rear, ran along the bottom. The stern was one enormous exhaust housing; it provided most of the forward propulsion. The dry dock the ship sat in was shaped like two horizontal arms. They supported the vessel under its main deck.

‘That's the
Jeanne d'Arc
,' Major Evans said. ‘It's one of the largest ships in the French Navy.'

‘What's that strange colour on the underside of the hull?' Jack asked, referring to a green tinge.

‘That's Levaton,' the major explained. ‘A bacterium engineered by the Darwinists to keep vessels afloat at high altitudes. It thrives at extreme heights.'

‘A good thing too,' Mr Doyle said. ‘We'd all float off the planet if it survived at ground level.'

Square frames were positioned at regular intervals along the length of the steamer.

‘What are the panels on the side?' Jack inquired.

‘Those are the cannons,' Major Evans replied, stroking his handsome jaw. ‘Three decks of them. Twenty-one on each deck. A steamer can fire all sixty-three at once.' He nodded confidently. ‘Our British steamers are rather larger. The
Nelson
has four decks of cannons. A total of one hundred in all.'

‘What about the Germans? Don't they have steamers too?'

The major pursed his lips. ‘They do, my boy.'

Scarlet peered down through the window. ‘I had always believed we would be weightless at this height.'

‘That's a misconception,' the major said. ‘The gravity is almost the same here as it is on earth. That weightlessness you've heard about is when ships are fired at great speed around the planet.'

‘I believe it's a type of freefall,' Lucy said. ‘Similar to the sensation you get at the apex of a roller-coaster ride.'

‘Exactly.'

They followed the General to a docking bay where they caught up with the girls' fathers. A long deck jutted out to the French ship. Jack felt a little awkward. They had come all this way to say goodbye to Mr Harker and Mr Bell. Both men were headed off on a dangerous mission and might never return. The girls tenderly kissed their fathers on the cheek, Scarlet dabbing at her eyes. Jack and Ignatius Doyle shook their hands and wished them luck. They gave a final wave and walked through the departure doors.

Nobody said anything. Both Scarlet and Lucy seemed very upset. Jack tried to think of something comforting to say, but nothing sprang to mind. Mr Doyle gazed at the steamer.

‘Time for the major and me to go,' General Churchill declared. ‘And for all of you to head off to the safety of home.' He held out a hand to Mr Doyle. ‘Well done, Ignatius. We would never have come this far without you.'

Mr Doyle shook his hand. ‘You must thank Jack as well. He risked life and limb for us.'

The general clasped Jack's hand. ‘Don't forget what I said about soldiering. It's a wonderful life and we need brave men such as yourself.'

‘I won't forget,' Jack promised.

The entire building shuddered. An alarm started to ring.

‘Wait here,' the general ordered.

He hurried through the anxious crowd and spoke to a military man standing at a desk. They had a swift conversation.

‘We're under attack,' Churchill reported. ‘The Nazis have approached the tower with a fleet of airships and they're firing artillery rounds into the structure. We are now in danger of collapsing. The entire structure is being evacuated.'

Again, the tower shuddered ominously beneath them.

Lucy's face was black. ‘Are the Nazis insane?'

‘Is there time to get down?' Scarlet asked.

‘We're not going down,' the general replied. ‘We're leaving on the
Jeanne d'Arc
.'

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Five minutes later Jack found himself squeezed into a cabin with Scarlet and Lucy. Ignatius Doyle had gone with the general and Major Evans to evaluate the situation. Jack pushed his face against the porthole. An endless line of people crowded the covered gangway to board the ship.