The Set Up (9 page)

The Saracen’s Head in Hanmore Park was already crowded when we arrived just after 8 p.m. I hadn’t really enjoyed the twenty-minute bus journey over here . . . I was too preoccupied – mostly with my impending juggling but also, slightly, over how Ed was going to react when he realised he’d been tricked into a meeting with Jack.

I hoped Jack would show up soon. While he was talking to Ed, I planned to slip outside with Ketty and give her a juggling demo. Once I’d proved that I could do what I’d claimed, I was hopeful that she’d stop acting so withdrawn around me. Actually, I was hoping for a lot more than that. But now really wasn’t the time to get ahead of myself.

At least Ketty hadn’t seemed to mind Ed tagging along. And Ed himself was surprisingly at ease with us both. I’d called Jack beforehand.

‘I’m not sure a pub’s the best place for you to meet Ed,’ I’d said. ‘He’s not exactly experienced in the night life department.’

Jack had laughed and told me not to worry about it – or our ID. ‘Just give the password “white flag”,’ he’d said. ‘That’ll sort everything.’

And now we were standing beside the bar. It was ultra-modern, all mirrored walls and pale blue lighting.

We were the youngest people in here by several years. I was cool with that and Ketty looked like she fitted in okay, but Ed – dressed up like a middle-aged yuppie in a crisp shirt and chinos – looked very uncomfortable.

I looked round. Most people weren’t taking any notice of us, but a few of the older ones were giving us extremely dirty looks.

A man beside us bought a beer and Ed turned to me.

‘I thought you said there wouldn’t be alcohol,’ he whispered. ‘And where are all the teenagers?’

I grinned. ‘I may have misled you on the exact parameters of the evening, Ed, but just because they serve beer here, doesn’t mean you have to drink it.’

Ed opened his mouth to say something, then glanced at Ketty and clearly thought better of it.

I smiled to myself. He didn’t want to look uncool in front of her. Some chance.

‘I’ll get the drinks,’ I said. ‘What d’you want?’

Ed glanced at Ketty again.

‘Coke please,’ she said.

‘Me too,’ Ed said, clearly relieved she hadn’t asked for an alcoholic drink.

I rolled my eyes and turned to the bar. I had my fake ID all ready to ask for a beer, but decided to try Jack’s password instead. As soon as I said ‘white flag’, the barman nodded.

‘Sure. No charge, mate.’

Wow.
For a second, I was tempted to get myself a triple vodka or something on top of the beer. Then I remembered why I was here – and that, as soon as Jack took Ed away, I was going to have to show Ketty I could juggle with seven objects. Better to keep a clear head and stick to a small beer.

After a few minutes, while the three of us sipped our drinks and looked round, Jack sent me a text:

I made an excuse and left Ketty and Ed by the bar. There was a bouncer on the door next to the toilet. I said the ‘white flag’ password again. The bouncer opened the door and stood back to let me pass.

Feeling a little unsettled, I walked into a small cloakroom, where a woman in a silver dress was checking in coats and bags. I didn’t have anything with me, so she just yawned and waved me through to the main room. It was buzzing, with slot machines against one wall, four card tables at one end and a roulette wheel in the middle. Staff wearing silver shirts (for the men) or silver dresses (for the women) wandered about with drink trays. Another man was calling out numbers by the roulette table, which was crowded with people watching the wheel spin.

Silver lights made the room sparkle. Both the walls and the floor seemed to be covered with dark red velvet. I’d only ever seen rooms like this in films.

Jack appeared beside me in another smart designer suit.

‘Is this a casino?’ I said.

He nodded. ‘A small one.’

A couple walked past. The woman stared at me. I suddenly realised how out of place I must look – at least five years younger than everyone else in the room.

‘What’s the plan, then?’ I said, wondering why Jack hadn’t come out to speak to Ed in the main bar.

He laughed. ‘That’s what I love about you, Nico, you’re up for anything.’

I glanced at him, suddenly worried. Did he expect me to play cards or something? I had no idea how to do anything more complicated than ‘snap’.

‘Don’t worry,’ Jack said, misunderstanding my anxiety. ‘The owner’s a business contact of mine. No one’s going to challenge you.’

‘Okay, but . . .’

‘So Edward and this girl of yours are out by the bar,’ Jack interrupted.

‘She’s not . . . er, yup, but . . .’

‘And they’re friends too? I mean, I know Edward’s only just met her, but he likes her . . . they get on?’

‘Yeah.’ I thought of Ed’s smile when I’d told him Ketty was interested. ‘I think he likes her a lot, actually, but I don’t see how that’s relevant. I mean, I don’t think Ed’s going to be able to handle this room,’ I said. ‘Even if he gets over the shock of seeing you, which I doubt.’

‘He just needs a nudge.’ Jack grinned.

He glanced across the room at a middle-aged woman in a smart black dress. She was watching us talk, an expression of deep interest on her face.

‘What d’you mean?’ I asked, feeling confused. ‘I thought you just wanted to talk to him?’

‘Mmm . . . slight change of plan,’ Jack said. ‘But don’t worry, you’ll still end up with loads of cash.’

‘But . . .’ I knew that I’d told Jack I wanted money. But that had only been in order to impress Ketty. Now that I’d realised flashing expensive stuff in her direction really wasn’t going to work, I just wanted a chance to talk to her alone. ‘You
are
going to take Ed off, aren’t you?’

‘All in good time.’ Jack grinned. ‘Now, I want you to go back outside with Edward and . . . what’s your friend’s name?’

‘Ketty.’

‘Okay, go outside with Edward and Ketty and wait. Act normal. Don’t say you’ve seen me. And, whatever happens, just go along with it. Everything’ll be okay. Remember I’m pulling the strings.’

Pulling what strings?

But Jack was already propelling me out of the casino and towards the bar area.

I made my way back to Ed and Ketty feeling more troubled than ever. What was Jack going on about? And when was he going to take Ed and leave me and Ketty alone?

Ketty and Ed were so deep in conversation that they didn’t notice me coming until I was almost on top of them. Ketty looked really pretty, all smiling and fresh-faced in her jeans and red jumper. Beside her, Ed just looked geeky – his shirt even had ironed-in creases down the sleeves.

‘Ed did orienteering at his last school,’ Ketty said, as I walked up. ‘It’s like running with maps.’

‘Right,’ I said, Jack’s words still racing through my head. What did he mean about ‘pulling the strings’?

‘What’s the matter?’ Ed said.

‘Nothing. Er . . . d’you want more drinks?’

‘I’ll get them.’ Ed fished out his wallet and turned to the barman.

I raised my eyebrows. Where was all Ed’s confidence coming from?

Ed bought three Cokes and we chatted on for a bit. Ketty was clearly having a great time, explaining various school customs and procedures to Ed. He was all silent smiles and encouraging nods. I hung back, grim-faced, wondering what was about to happen. I didn’t have to wait long.

After about ten minutes a youngish man in a suit and tie wandered over, his eyes on Ketty.

‘Hello, miss,’ he said with a frown. ‘I need to ask you to step into the office for a minute.’

I froze. I wasn’t expecting anyone to challenge us for being here. Hadn’t Jack said that he knew the manager?

‘White flag,’ I said.

The man ignored me.

‘I’ve got ID,’ Ketty squeaked, picking up her bag. ‘And we only drank Coca-cola.’

‘That’s not it, miss,’ the man went on. He took the bag from her. ‘I’m afraid we have reason to believe you are in possession of class A drugs.’

‘
What?
’ Ketty and I spoke together.

Ed’s eyes widened into circles.

‘That’s ridiculous.’ Ketty’s lip trembled. ‘Look in my bag if you don’t believe me.’

The man thrust his hand into her bag. He slowly pulled out a small tube of pills.

Ketty gasped. ‘They’re not mine.’ She looked at me.

‘They’re not hers,’ I insisted. ‘Someone put them there.’ The idea that Ketty would take pills was ludicrous. Of all the people I knew Ketty was the
last
person who’d ever use drugs.

And then it struck me. This must be what Jack had warned me about – what he’d been referring to when he’d told me:
Just go along with it
. . .
I’m pulling the strings.

The man remained impassive. ‘Like I said, please, no fuss, miss. We’d just like a private word.’

I was too shocked to think straight as we crossed the crowded bar towards the casino room. Why had Jack arranged to have drugs planted on Ketty? It didn’t make sense.

The man took us into the little cloakroom with all the coats and bags.

‘I don’t understand.’ Ketty was shaking now. ‘I’ve
never
taken drugs. Not even the tiniest bit.’

The door from the casino swung open, letting in a shortlived burst of light and chatter. The woman in the long black dress that I’d seen watching Jack earlier swept in.

She had short blonde hair cut in a sharp bob and smelled of a deep, musky perfume. Her dark, hard eyes took us in, then she turned to the man. ‘Please take the girl outside, Scott.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’ The man opened the door and indicated that Ketty should leave.

‘Where are you taking her?’ Ed’s face was pale under his freckles.

‘What’s going on?’ Ketty looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes full of fear as she was led away.

I stared down at my feet, unable to meet her gaze. What was going on? Where was Jack? I forced myself to remember what he’d said:
Whatever happens, go along with it. Everything’ll be okay.

Ed looked like he was about to be sick. ‘This isn’t right,’ he said. ‘We weren’t taking drugs. Oh, God, please don’t tell my parents.’

I bit my lip.

‘Don’t worry, Ed, dear.’ The woman smiled. ‘Nothing’s going to happen to you or Nico or Ketty, providing you do what I tell you now.’

Ed stared at her. ‘How do you know our names?’ he said.

‘Oh, I know a lot more about you than that, Ed.’ The woman smiled again. ‘In fact, there’s something inside you both that was named after me.’ She glanced at me. ‘I’m Geri Paterson.’

‘Sorry, but I don’t think I have anything called Geri Paterson inside me,’ I murmured.

A flicker of amusement crossed the woman’s face. Like she was acknowledging the fact that we both knew the drugs thing with Ketty was a fraud but we weren’t going to let on to Ed.

I decided I didn’t like her.

It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ Geri Paterson smiled.

Ed shook his head, clearly completely baffled. ‘I don’t understand,’ he said. ‘What d’you
want
? What have you done with Ketty?’

‘First things first.’ Geri smoothed down her sleek blonde bob. ‘I think you’ll both understand when you hear my code name.’

‘Your what?’ Ed frowned.

I just raised my eyebrows, determined not to let her see that I was almost as confused as Ed. ‘So what’s your code name, then?’

Geri’s smile deepened.

‘Medusa.’

‘Medusa?’ I frowned. ‘As in the Medusa gene?’

‘Named after me, dear.’ The faintest flicker of smugness crossed Geri’s face. ‘Not by its creator, William Fox, but by the people who paid for it.’

I stared at her. ‘I thought Jack Linden raised the money.’

‘Jack was the go-between.’ Geri rolled her eyes. ‘But the money came from us.’

‘And who are you?’ That was Ed. He still looked completely traumatised.

‘Yeah,’ I added. ‘What’s with the whole code name thing?’

‘That doesn’t matter.’ Geri batted the question away with her elegantly manicured hand. ‘We were hoping that Jack could bring you in without us having to force the issue but I understand, Edward, that you are in denial about the worth of your abilities.’

Ed stared at her, open-mouthed.

‘What have you done with Ketty?’ I said.

‘Ketty is being held in the front office until you’ve both done what I’m about to ask of you. I wish it wasn’t necessary to have planted those drugs on her, but I’m afraid
you
, Ed, made that the only option when you refused to co-operate with Nico and Jack.’

‘What?’ Ed said, his mouth still gaping.

‘‘So, do you work for Jack Linden?’ I clenched my fists.

‘No.’ Geri sniffed. ‘Jack Linden works for me. His mission was simply to find you. I was the one who insisted he brought you and Edward here.’

‘Jack Linden’s here too?’ Ed sounded close to tears.

‘What do you want us to do?’ I asked.

‘Put simply, dear,’ Geri said, ‘we want a demonstration of your abilities in action. At this stage, all I’m looking for is proof that Medusa works – that the gene synthesis made a quantifiable difference to your development. Jack tells me he’s seen you in action, Nico, and that you’ve experienced Edward’s abilities, but . . .’ she paused . . . ‘I hope you understand I prefer the evidence of my own eyes.’