Trials in Walls of Ivy (Triskelion Trilogy Book 1) (24 page)

The air was forced from his lungs as the two approaching guards pounced. They shoved him to the ground, twisting him so his face was pressed against the gravel path. A guard put his knee between his shoulder blades, grinding it until Mark growled in pain.

“Stop it. You’re hurting him,” I shouted. “He’s not the bomber, he’s being set up.”

The guard grinned as he looked down at my restrained friend. “Please tell me you’re going to resist?” Mark shook his shoulders, a feeble effort to dislodge the guard. “Good.” He raised his fist and brought it down on Mark’s head with sickening force.

The thump echoed through my ears like it had injured me too. I stumbled back into Owen as Mark’s head slumped to the side, his eyes closed. The guards laughed as they each surrounded Mark’s limp body. I watched as the four men took a limb each and yanked him from the ground.

“Where are you taking him?” I shouted. Owen held me back as I fought to get to him. “I told you, it wasn’t him. Let him go!”

They ignored me. With Mark hoisted under their arms, they carried him through the crowd toward one of the new buildings. I watched them retreat across the grass toward an elongated streak of light. My fury blazed as they disappeared into the building, greeted by the smirking face of Llamp. She held the door open, welcoming Mark’s captures like heroes.

Levins had convinced her too.

I span on the spot and gripped Owen’s jacket. “We have to do something. We can’t let Levins get away with this.”

“We won’t. But, we can’t do anything from here.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a sprint. We ploughed through the milling students, not caring to apologise.

Levins had planned this, knowing when Mark would be arrested. He knew how far the police had progressed in their investigation, probably pushed them in the wrong direction, like he had me. Everything he had planned, each bomb, each scene, was an act which was leading to this. I knew, with sickening dread, this was Levins’ plan. And this, was the lull before his storm.

He was about to strike.

We were out of time.

We burst through the door just as Bree and Ash were about to leave.

“We were just about to go look for you.” Bree said, closing the door behind us. “We couldn’t… what’s wrong?”

I handed Owen the phone. “Get Jay and Fern over here. Bree, is Warwick upstairs?” I asked, whilst rushing passed them to the living room. I flicked on the computers and stood waiting for them to hum to life.

Ash took my hand from behind. “Roz, what’s happened? Are you okay?”

I stepped into him and put my arm around his waist, not looking away from the flickering screens.

“It’s Mark. We talked to him and were about to go to the Lab to gather evidence when he was taken by the guards.” I hammered on the enter key on the computer, willing it to load. “He didn’t do it, Ash. Mark said none of the samples he’s been working from had his L08 in them. But, the bomber’s using Mark’s work alongside Levins’, so it should’ve been there. They’re using his work as the target for the delivery system. Ash, there’s only one person who gave Mark those samples to work from. Only one person the bomber could be.”

“Who?”

“ Levins! He developed the delivery system. He developed the toxin. And, he’s using Mark’s work as a target. He’s the only one who had access to Mark’s work and the only one who had a chance to learn and understand it.”

“Couldn’t it be Mark using Levins’ work?” Ash asked.

“I honestly don’t think Mark could’ve done it. The different levels of genetics, the use of experimental theories? He’s only twenty three; he couldn’t possibly have had time in his life to learn all those skills. Honestly Ash, you didn’t see him. It wasn’t him. It must be Levins. He’s the one who’s been sending Mark on errands whenever a bomb hits. He’s the one who fully understands both the delivery system and toxin. And, I know he understands Mark’s research, even though he says he doesn’t. I can’t think of anyone else it can be. I just can’t believe how long it has taken me to realise.”

“But why?” Bree asked. “I thought he was a good guy. He helped me when I was drugged. He’s been helping you figure out who the bomber is. Now you’re saying it was him all along?”

Owen took my place banging the side of the computer. “We’ll know for certain when we get into his computer.” He typed on the keyboard frantically. “Someone’s had this. It was fine before we left.”

“We didn’t touch it,” Bree said.

We all turned as footsteps thundered down the stairs. Warwick and Fern entered the room. Warwick was pulling a jumper over his shirt.

“Sorry,” Fern said, “I was in the middle of something.” I looked to Warwick who shrugged with a smirk.

I grabbed Owen’s arm and pulled him from the computer. His face was contorted in fury.

“Someone’s knackered my computer. The whole fecking thing is corrupted.”

“You’ll fix it. Right now we need to get to work.” I said, sorry to belittle his frustration.

“But who, Roz? Who could’ve gotten in here unseen and knackered this specific computer? None of the others are touched. They knew to target this one.”

We both turned to Warwick and Fern.

Fern looked to her shoes. “Sorry, we were a little busy.

“Oh, for god’s sake,” Bree mumbled.

Warwick dislodged himself from Fern’s side. “I didn’t hear anyone. If they broke in, they did it quietly.”

“Do you think he knows? You think Levins did this?” Ash asked.

I nodded. “He does seem to be one step ahead of us.” I grabbed a pen drive and threw it to Owen. “We need to get to the lab now and get the evidence. He’s obviously close to his final plan if Mark’s been arrested. If we’re going to find evidence, now’s the time. If we don’t stop him now, he’ll be setting the next one.”

I stepped away from Ash and faced my team. My friends.

“The facts are that Mark’s taking the blame and Levins is still free to kill more people. Llamp is convinced, and by the amount of guards who arrested him, it’s fair to say the authorities are convinced it’s Mark too. We’re the only ones who know the truth. We’re the ones who need to stop him”

I looked to each of my friends in turn, my heart heavy for putting such pressure on them, for choosing such a dangerous and daunting task. I was about to send them up against a man who enjoyed killing, enjoyed to experiment with suffering, with death. I held my hands behind my back and prayed that this wouldn’t be the last time I saw them.

“It looks like he knows were on to him, but we can’t quit. Too many lives are at stake. We get in, get the information, and leave. Simple grab and run. Everyone ready?”

“Not without me.” The door opened and Jay entered. “Thought we might need these.” He threw down a huge black bag in the centre of the room. “If we’re going in, we’re going in prepared.”

“What is it?” Ash asked.

“A bit of everything a good spy needs. Body armour, microphones, and a few extras.”

He opened the bag and pulled out seven large black wrapped bundles. He passed one to each of us.

“Get changed. He’s ready, we need to be too.”

“How do you know he’s ready?” I asked, as I took my heavy bundle.

Jay grinned. “Saw him. The cameras around the campus are still up and running. When I heard what you guys were saying in Mark’s house, I switched to them to see if I could find him.”

Owen punched his shoulder playfully. “You were watching through the cameras in Mark’s house? Did you capture anything suspicious there too?”

“No. I agree with you guys. He’s been set up. But Levins, he knew,” Jay grimaced.

“He knew?” I asked.

“As soon as you guys started talking about him, he sort of erupted. He was walking through campus when I saw him. He was fine one minute, then suddenly ran flat out to the labs. Next minute, I saw him running from building to building with a phone in his hand. A moment later the guards arrive and he points in your direction. I watched them as they took Mark.”

“Guys, he reacted the moment Mark figured it out. You know what that means?”

I ran my hand through my mess of hair. “It means, he had Mark’s house bugged too. And, if he had Mark’s house bugged, he could have anywhere bugged.”

Bree jumped up and began searching the living room. “He’s listening to us?”

“No,” Jay answered. “I check this place every day. Those bugs haven’t been replaced.”

“But, you think it was him, who set them last time?” Ash asked.

“That would make sense.”

“But,” I said, “that would mean he managed to break in here. How?”

“Or, get someone else to plant them?”

We all stared at each other, lost in our own desperate thoughts. If Levins had broken in, or had someone break in for him, he would have had access to our progress, our research.

“So, you put all this together?” Fern said, eyeing her bundle suspiciously, snapping me out of my internal panic.

Jay nodded. “It’s everything we should need.”

“We need to get to the lab before he destroys all the evidence. He’s probably wiping his systems now,” Owen said.

“Not all of it,” Fern said. “He’s spent years putting together that research. It means everything to him. He wouldn’t throw it away. It’ll be there, we just need to find it.”

I ripped my jeans off and pulled on the thick black pants Jay had given me. All around the room, my friends were doing the same. The pants trebled in thickness at the knees and hips. I kept my vest top on, fastening the matching black jacket over the top. At the elbows and across the chest was the same thick, reinforced material. Every inch was covered in pockets. I felt in them to find a multitude of odd items: small wires, a key ring with thin metal sticks and a set of screwdrivers.

“What is all this?” Fern asked, as she fastened her jacket. She had pulled out a miniature torch from the back pocket. “It’s not that dark yet.”

Jay had his foot on the side of the chair as he fastened his boot. “We don’t know what we’re going to face. After everything we’ve been through, all the tests, the bombs? We’re not taking any chances. This kit makes us ready for almost anything. From now on, if we go on a mission, we go prepared.”

I pulled a small knife from the side of my boot. “I won’t be needing this,” I said, feeling bile rise up my throat at the thought of using it.

He took it from me and pushed it back into my boot. “Just in case.”

I looked at each member of my team. The seven of us stood in matching black combat gear. We looked exactly like the campus security guards. All we were missing were the telescopic batons.

One at a time, my friends finished dressing. Each of their faces turned to mine, waiting for me to lead. I sucked in deep breath, willed my hands to stop shaking and made my way to the door.

*   *   *

We walked through the campus to the sound off muffled thumping music. The party in tower block three was already in full swing. We passed close to the base of the building and could see the crowds of people crammed into every room. I had to look away as we passed. I wondered how I had managed to live here as one of them, learn with them, but still, never fall into the student life of partying and fun. I felt a mixture of regret and determination as the sounds of drunken laughter faded into the distance.

We came to a unified stop as the science lab came into view. All lights were out, doors shut.

It looked deserted.

“Fern,” I whispered. “Where’s his private computer stored?”

She pointed to the right side of the collection of science buildings. “That one. He has a store room which he keeps locked. I think he must keep it in there.”

I watched the buildings a moment longer, planning my next move. He sent the guards for Mark, knowing the truth was almost out. He must have set something up to block us.

“I think we need to split up,” I announced.

“No. We stay together,” Ash whispered, sternly.

I shook my head. “If he knows were coming, he’ll have something set up, don’t you think?”

“Yes. That’s why we don’t split up,” Ash demanded.

“Ash, that’s exactly why we
do
split up. If he’s distracted with one of us, the rest have a chance to get to the computer. We
have
to get the evidence.”

Fern stood beside me. “Roz’s right. If we pair off, we can cover more ground.” She put her hand on my shoulder to show support.

“In your left bottom pocket,” Jay said. He opened his own pocket and fished out a small plastic blob. He pressed a button and pushed it into his ear. “I’m on channel two.”

I pulled open the Velcro on my pocket and felt inside for the tiny plastic thing. I twisted it around in my hands and found an oval button which sat flush on the surface. I pushed it twice to get the channel, then hooked it over my ear.

“Testing. You all hear me?”

I jumped as Jay’s voice echoed through my eardrum. A mass of voices filled my ear as everyone replied.

“Good. Now, best thing will be to have our own channels, so we don’t put each other off. So, Roz, you, Fern and Warwick are team one.” We nodded and switched our channels to one. “Bree, you’re with me as team two. Owen, you’re with Ash as team three.”

We all moved to stand with our teammate.

“Remember those numbers. If we need each other, switch channels to talk, okay?” We all nodded in response.

“I should go with Roz,” Ash said, stepping forward.

“Ash,” Jay sighed, “she’s in a group of three. She’ll be fine.”

“But, Warwick can switch.”

“No,” I said, my chest tightened as his face dropped. “Ash, we’re working. Right now, I’m not the priority, the task is.”

He turned away, teeth clenched.

Bree pushed her ear piece back in to place and turned to me. “Orders, boss lady?”

My mouth clamped shut. Other than collecting the information, I didn’t know what to do. I watched the empty looking labs which were slowly being swallowed by darkness.

“If Fern thinks the best place to find the computer is the right lab, that’s where I’ll go. But, he knows we’re onto him. He could have moved it. You two,” I pointed to Bree and Jay, “you guys take the left. Make copies of anything which looks like it could have anything to do with his research or area choices.”

Jay patted his pocket. “I stocked up on pen drives. I’ll just copy everything we find.”

“Good thinking. Ash, you and Owen take the centre of the building.”

“Will do,” Owen replied.

He was about to leave when Ash rushed forward and grabbed my arms. His face was stern, eyes boring into mine.

“Roz, I’ll keep checking your channel. If you need help, just shout my name, okay?”

I smiled up at him. “It looks empty, Ash. We’ll be fine.”

He let go of my arms and held my face, combing his fingers through my hair. He leaned into kiss me, his lips hot in the cold air. My arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling my body firmly against his. He held me tighter, our lips moving in time. A flood of heat exploded within, energising me for the task ahead; a promise of what waited at the finish line.